Not too long ago, a stroke was more of an age-related disease, but nowadays it is getting younger, as more frequently hits young and strong people.
That is what happened to a seafarer, member of the Marine Transport Workers’ Trade Union of Ukraine, Gleb Petrachkov.
On February 23rd, Gleb’s wife Lilya was informed that her husband had a hemorrhagic stroke during the voyage. “I was lucky to be at the sports dispensary with my child when I got the awful news. Lucky me that the doctors were at place, as I passed out right away,” Lilya Petrachkova recalls. “In a blink everything turned upside down, all our previous plans, goals - everything seemed so insignificant. I was completely shocked and had no idea what to do. I did not realize what a stroke was, but I knew it was something terrible. The main thing, I kept repeating myself - he is alive, he is alive.”
That voyage was especially important for the seafarer’s family: Gleb Petrachkov first joined the ship as a Captain. “It remains unknown why that happened. You’d think - a young healthy man, who regularly undergoes medical examinations, does sports, follows a healthy lifestyle... And the voyage was calm, it can’t be said that he worried a lot about his new position, as he long worked as a Chief Mate and on even more complex ships,” says the wife.
As soon as the trouble hit the Petrachkov family, Lilya immediately addressed the Marine Transport Workers’ Trade Union of Ukraine. In a personal meeting, the MTWTU First Vice Chairman Oleg Grygoriuk strongly recommended Lilya to drop everything and immediately fly to Brazil to her husband. And she did so. The Union’s staff were constantly in touch with Lilya, providing moral support, advice on the employment contract, suggesting how to act in a particular situation, and consulting with medical experts here in Ukraine. Moreover, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine the Union reported the incident to the local Consul, who contacted Lilya on the spot and linked her with the Ukrainian diaspora.
“Despite that the stroke occurred in the high seas, the crew and the Maersk company acted really professionally and saved Gleb’s life. The Chief Officer Aman Thapliyal is a true hero. He had a person with cerebral hemorrhage on board, but stayed calm and concentrated and managed to deliver Gleb to the hospital alive regardless of terrible weather. I am very grateful to everyone who helped save my husband’s life,” says Lilya Petrachkova.
Maersk covered all the expenses - for the seafarer’s treatment and rehabilitation, for the wife’s travel and accommodation in Brazil. “Every day I came to the hospital at 8 a.m. and stayed there till 10 p.m. while visits were allowed. We are very grateful to Maersk for their support, for the good conditions created for us, and for the excellent care from the medical staff. We owe the success of rather quick recovery to the professionals of the hospital. They are really very sentimental, kind, sensitive people, as they are shown on TV,” recalls Lilya.
Due to COVID-imposed restrictions and closed borders, Gleb and Lilya stayed in Brazil longer than scheduled. “Gleb and I were busy with his recovery, we did not have time for suffering. But our children, who were used to the fact that their mother is around them 24/7, remained at home with their grandmother. And it was not easy to explain to them what a stroke is and what the consequences are. Sonya is 11 years old, Andrey is 7 - they know dad as a strong man, who is not afraid of anything. The son still thinks that this is some kind of long-lasting joke. Video calls helped us: I recorded dad’s successes, and the children filmed exercises for him. Sonya, for example, recorded a clip showing how to work out a foot using a sports elastic band. Gleb said it helped him a lot in his recovery,” Lilya comments.
Now Gleb is at home, there is a lot of daily work ahead - a long and difficult rehabilitation process. “Gleb has been working for the Danish company Maersk for 12 years. As a Second Mate, he applied to the company, successfully passed a multi-stage interview in Ukraine and then in Copenhagen. Maersk is very careful in crewing and is proud of its Danish quality. Over the years, everyone liked Gleb. As an example, he was even invited to work at the company’s head office, as they needed an expert aware of the practical side of maritime work. Our family lived in Copenhagen for about a year, so I have experienced what Maersk is at its best, what are Danish quality and values. This is not just a loud campaign. They really appreciate people, care about their health and wellbeing. Everything there is permeated with “hygge” philosophy. It cannot be translated literally into Russian - the Danes have a peculiar combination of coziness, comfort and wellbeing. We hope very much that thanks to Gleb’s decency and showing himself as a good manager and seafarer, the company will not leave him behind this Danish prosperity,” says Lilya Petrachkova.
“I would also like to express huge words of gratitude to the employees of the Marine Transport Workers’ Trade Union of Ukraine, who have provided me with advisory assistance throughout all this time, and just did not let me give up. Due to the time difference, I called late at night and early in the morning, and I always received support. Thank you very much for the personal protective equipment that was delivered to my family while we were away. While being on the other side of the planet, I was very worried about our family - about Andrey who is an asthmatic, and the elderly grandmother - due to all this coronavirus mess. And all these things as invitations to the dolphinarium and the water park are so valuable, as I could not explain to children that parents are not up to it. Thus, thanks to the care from the Union, the children got a lot of positive emotions,” says Lilya.
The MTWTU hopes that this story will have a happy ending. Now Gleb Petrachkov continues to undergo rehabilitation and, in particular, thanks to the great moral support of the family, he shows significant success - his speech and coordination have improved, and the doctors are confident that Gleb will fully recover as soon as possible. Maersk, in turn, continues to support the seafarer, and the Petrachkov family really hopes that Gleb will return to work for the company once rehabilitation is over.
"It is crucial to work in a team of real professionals, in a good company that is proud of its reputation and respects the seafarers' work, - said Oleg Grygoriuk. - At the same time, it is also important to be a member of the Trade Union to feel supported and protected by a strong and authoritative organization, which cares for each seafarer's. We are glad that Gleb is making progress and that his health is getting better. Every case, every story the seafarer and his family come to us - is not just our job, but we treat it as our own problem, taking both joy and pain in"
