OU Tulsa Surgeon Shares His Experience On Aid Mission To Ukraine

An OU Tulsa surgeon returned this week from a two-week aid mission in Ukraine. Dr. Robert Lim spent 23 years in the military as a surgeon - with six tours in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria.

“So it was almost like a ‘Why shouldn’t I do it?’ type of thing," he said.

He'd been part of the GSMSG for years and made arrangements to travel to Ukraine at the start of the war. He said one of the toughest things to see was the crowds at the Polish border.

“We saw thousands. Just thousands and thousands of people who were crossing around 11:00 at night," he said.

"You know with bags, their children in their hand, whatever they could carry just walking to get across to escape. It was very, very sad. It was, it was tough to watch that," said Dr. Lim.

While many have fled war-town Ukraine - Lim met many more who have stayed to fight.

“What really surprised me was just the will of the Ukrainian people," Dr. Lim said. “The willingness to learn, the willingness to do anything to help their country was palpable.”

Lim and his team taught thousands of Ukrainians combat-casualty care - who in turn - will share the knowledge with thousands more.

“I met a dancer at one of the classes that we gave, and she was like, ‘Well I didn’t want to leave, I want to stay and fight, and I don’t want to pick up a weapon.’ She wanted to learn first aid so that she could help people who were hurt,” he said.

Dr. Lim said a second group of GSMSG volunteers is in western Ukraine to treat wounds and teach.