If I could, I wouldn’t change a thing, because my son rescued people. His mother, Fedora Hnativna, told us about Oleksandr Nagovitsyn, a 29-year-old military doctor from Mariupol, who is still in captivity.
From early childhood, Sasha said: “When I grow up, mom, I’ll be a doctor.” I was only wondering about myself, because, we didn’t have doctors neither in family nor among friends.
All his conscious life he dreamed of becoming a doctor. After school, despite the brilliantly passed exams, the son did not enter a medical university. But this did not affect his desire in any way – he went to a medical college, and after his graduation he already entered a medical university. After university, he entered the military medical academy. He informed us – I will be a military doctor.
After graduating from the Academy, he was assigned to the position of chief of the medical service of one of the military units. In 2021, he was seconded for additional staffing in 36 brigade. There he met the war.
Our communication with our son while he was in Mariupol was unusual. I wrote him long texts, in response I received a one “plus” or two. When he got to Azovstal from Ilyicha, he generally sent a photo where he was sewing up a wound with the caption: “Ma, my dream came true, I became a field surgeon.” Boys and girls call me from almost every prisoner’s exchange, support me, say that my Sasha, rescued hundreds and hundreds of people. His driver said that they stopped keeping a list of evacuees from the battlefield. That is, my child rescued 400 people. I believe that each of us has our own purpose. His job is to rescue people. Mine is to wait every second for my son from captivity.
All the doctors who are currently in captivity and those who were there are real Heroes of today. Future generations of Ukrainians – a free, unconquered nation – will emulate them. After all, they rescued others at the cost of their own freedom. My son has been in captivity for more than 263 days. 263 mornings I wake up and dream of forgetting. I dream not to dream and not to feel. I dream of hearing those cherished words: “Mom, it’s me. I’m home.”
I pray every second for the return of our Mariupol medics.

Oleksandr returned home on April 10, 2023 as part of the exchange of military prisoners of war