CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- A Virginia-based doctor is back in the Commonwealth after spending three weeks in Ukraine to help in that country's fight against the Russian invasion and hopes others will be inspired to do the same.
"I'm adjusting. It's obviously very surreal. It's like — coming back is like living in a dream," said Dr. Connor Berlin. "I just finally turned off this app that was still getting notifications for, like, air raid sirens."
Berlin, a neurosurgery resident at UVA Health, went to work in the Mechnikov Hospital in the city of Dnipro, about 70 miles from the front line.
"I think that neurosurgery is what I'm good at and I've always said, if there's something I'm good at, that I can use to help other people, I'm going to do it," Berlin said.
Berlin said his Jewish ancestors fled persecution in the country over a century ago, but added it has changed since then and has felt a pull to help ever since Russia invaded.
"I think it's an easy question and a harder question to answer. The easy answer is, it just seems like the right thing to do," said Berlin. "I think the more complex answer is I have been following this war ever since Russia invaded very closely, and every day like reading up on the news about it, and feeling sort of very inadequate, in terms of myself, and what other people or other countries are doing in terms of providing support for these people."
During the day, Berlin said he and his fellow doctors helped civilians with more routine issues, but at night, they'd treat seriously injured soldiers, sometimes working through air raids.
"These guys aren't just going to stop in the middle of a craniotomy that they're doing on a patient to save their life to go take shelter, you know. So that's a risk that they take," he said.
Berlin said he performed 20 surgeries over 16 days. He said he did so alongside a group of surgeons he called the "Dream Team."
"They are very just unbelievable individuals," he said. "Unfortunately, I think war is a very good trainer for surgeons."
He called everyone at Mechnikov "real heroes" and credited the hospital's lead neurosurgeon Dr. Andrii Serkov for training the doctors, many who are younger than Berlin, 30.
"He's so committed to his country," Berlin said.
He said he intended to go back to Ukraine as the people and country need more support.
"You don't have to be a healthcare worker, you could be in the tech industry to go and help Ukraine out," he said. "And you don't have to go to Ukraine to help out either, donating is great."
Berlin mentioned two groups that could use donations:
Razom, which means "together" in Ukrainian, helped fund his trip.
Heal Corp gives first aid training to Ukrainians.
