7 October 2023
BEMIDJI, Minn. Ukrainian soldier Serhii Nosovad stood on the tranquil shore of Lake Bemidji last weekend, half a world away from his homeland and a war that has cost him dearly.
Serhii and two comrades were in Bemidji to share their stories at a fundraising event for the Protez Foundation, a Twin Cities nonprofit that has provided prosthetic limbs to more than 115 Ukrainian soldiers and civilians since the Russian invasion last year.
Serhii, a muscular 27-year-old, joined the Ukrainian Army after an unspeakable tragedy. He was working for an internet company last October when he found the bodies of his father and grandmother covered with dirt in a trench near their home in Kherson. They had been dragged across the street and executed by Russian soldiers.
“When I learned that my dad and grandma were killed, I knew I had to go and fight for my country and defend our people,” Serhii said through an interpreter.
He joined a Special Forces unit in February, and after only three months of training, went to the front lines. On June 10, he stepped on a landmine, and his left leg had to be amputated from the knee down.
Serhii got his prosthetic leg on Sept. 27, and four days later he was in Bemidji, walking without assistance and vowing to rejoin his military brothers in their fight against the Russians.
“They are waiting for me,” he said with a determined expression.
‘A wonderful day’
Peter Nordquist couldn’t have dreamed about what happened on the north end of Lake Bemidji on Sunday, Oct. 1. When the Russians invaded in February 2022, the 68-year-old retiree simply had to do something. A few weeks later Nordqust bought a plane ticket and went to Ukraine to deliver medical supplies. Then he went again. And again. And again. His next trip is scheduled for November.
On one of those trips he learned of the desperate need for prosthetics and that led him to Dr. Yakov Gradinar, a Ukrainian-born surgeon from the Twin Cities who left a high-paying private practice and co-founded the Protez Foundation after the war started. Through donations, Protez is able to provide a $45,000 prosthetic for about $15,000.
Nordquist, who lived in Bemidji until he was 13 years old, formerly owned a food packaging business in the Twin Cities. Now, he and his wife, Laurie, are building their retirement home on the north end of Lake Bemidji. But he remains committed to helping Ukraine, and he invited Gradinar and the injured soldiers to Bemidji in an effort to raise additional funds.
About 40 people attended an event at the home of John Baer on Sunday, Oct. 1, and as of Thursday more than $58,000 had been pledged, enough to pay for all three of the soldiers’ operations.
“It was a wonderful day, and we were flabbergasted at the outpouring of support,” Nordquist said.
Baer, whose family has owned Security BankUSA in Bemidji since 1915, agreed.
“This doctor is really quite incredible with what he is accomplishing,” Baer said. I just think this is a very worthwhile humanitarian cause. It was a very good day.”
Thankful to America
Joining Serhii Nosovad at the Bemidji event were fellow soldiers Andrii Bubenshchikov, 27, and Evgeniy Korinec, 26. They are three of 10 amputees who traveled to the Protez clinic in the St. Paul suburb of Oakdale for surgery.
Andrii received his prosthetic on his right leg on Sept. 27. “He is up and walking, and we can’t stop him,” said Gradinar, who became a surgeon after moving to America 17 years ago.
Evgeniy lost his left leg from the hip down and received his custom-fitted prosthetic on Sept. 29. A half hour later, he was walking on a treadmill.
“He did a little dance for me,” Gradinar said. “It was literally within half an hour from when we started to fit him.”
When asked to take a photo with the host on Sunday, the soldiers insisted on posing in front of the American flag that flies in Baer’s yard.
“I like to say to fellow Americans ‘Thank you for building a great country, where we as immigrants, not only can come and be part of this country, but we also can prosper,’” Gradinar said.
Serhii added, “I’m very happy that I came to do my prosthetic here. We were greeted very warmly. You don’t get that service even in Ukraine.”
A true partnership
The connection that Nordquist and Gradinar made continues to pay remarkable dividends as the number of Ukrainians receive new limbs. That includes 17-year-old soccer protege Artem Sverhun, who lost his leg in an explosion on March 2, 2022, during a game in his hometown of Mariupol. The players heard the whistle of a rocket as it neared the playing field.
Artem was injured and his left leg was amputated above the knee in a local hospital. He now has a new leg thanks to the Protez Foundation.
“People have told us after, even if you wouldn’t give us prosthetics, your love and your open hearts healed us more than getting prosthetics,” said Gradinar, who received a medal from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on behalf of the foundation in September. “That just tells us OK, we will do as much as possible.”
And he’s doing so with help from people like Nordquist and his Bemidji friends.
“(Peter) is investing in some people half a world away,” Gradinar said. “I will never forget that. His open heart and care just gives you that feeling that you are not alone against this giant bear that is (invading) Ukraine. We are not alone, and sooner or later we are going to win, and we are going to get through it.”
For Nordquist, what started out as a personal humanitarian effort has become a gratifying mission.
“This whole thing started as a curiosity to see if there was something I could do to help,” Nordquist said. “I’ve decided that the smallest little thing can make a difference, and that’s really given me a lot of encouragement to stay involved. Also, the collective empathy from people all over the world that are saying ‘We’re with you’ to these Ukrainians.”
Donations to the Protez Foundation can be made online at protezfoundation.org.
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