- After the tragedy of 2023, his 10-year-old brother Pepi takes care of him
- Caught in the same condition as a child, Michaud is today a true inspiration who created his innovative prosthesis
A miracle awaits 20-year-old Milen Kiryakov from the village of Debelt. The boy lost his hands in a terrible work accident.
Milen will have prosthetics six months after the accident,
where a pellet machine literally turns his hands into mincemeat.
The young man will not have any, but robotic prostheses, with functions that will help him live fully. The prostheses are made absolutely free of charge by our famous Paralympic athlete Mihail Hristov, who himself lost his hands at the age of 14.
Before “24 Chasa”, Mihail, who makes innovative prostheses, made a commitment that the one for Milen’s right hand would be ready before Easter. Thus, one of his great wishes will come true – to take from the blessed fire of Resurrection.
After the tragedy that befell the boy from Debelt, hundreds of people joined a fundraising campaign organized by the “Lend a Hand/Together for a Better Future” foundation, and the villagers of Milen collected BGN 15,000 through bazaars and other initiatives.
“These funds will only be used for the maintenance of the prostheses, which is done every year. At the Christmas concert alone, BGN 6,000 was collected for Milen.
We also saved by missing the dawn for the New Year. The boy’s family is very poor, Milen has a 10-year-old brother. Only the father works,” said the mayor of Debelt Nikola Sachanov. He assisted the left-handed boy with his documents at TELK in Burgas.
BGN 3,000 was collected by Milen’s classmates from the maritime school,
which he is graduating this year.
“When I found out about the tragedy, I immediately decided to cover the costs of making prostheses. First we will put on the right one so she can eat, and then the left one. Milen will go through training on how to work with the prosthesis, how to maintain it. She has the function of opening and closing the fingers of the hand,” explains 33-year-old Mihail Hristov.
He lost his hands as a child in a serious accident – an electric arc was released from a transformer with a voltage of 20,000 volts and passed through him. The burns necessitated amputation. Difficult, but he managed to overcome himself, began to actively engage in athletics and became a three-time world champion in the long jump for the disabled, improved dozens of European records.
In time, he founded a prosthetics company to help and inspire. For 5 years, he developed his innovative prosthesis, which is now ready.
“Our company’s policy is to find a way to help those who cannot afford prostheses. In this case
Millen’s family does not have the financial means
opportunity
In Belgium, the cost of prostheses is covered by the state, and in our country, people who need prostheses or expensive drugs are forced to go to another country to afford them”, is outraged Mihail, who was also a member of parliament for a short time. but is leaving parliament himself in 2020.
He is relieved that in the case of Milen, money has been collected for the maintenance of the prostheses, which is between BGN 2,000 and 3,000 per year.
The owner of the furniture factory on whose territory the incident took place, Atanas Bachkov, also expressed a desire to help financially. In front of our team, the entrepreneur explained that the machine that gripped Millen’s hands was on a field assigned to another company.
Buckkov and two more of his workers became eyewitnesses to the accident.
“I immediately called 112, and the two workers gave him first aid,” Bachkov recalls.
Millen admits that if it hadn’t been for the emergency intervention of the two men, who did their best to stop the bleeding, he might not have survived. The 20-year-old often experiences the nightmare of October 2023 because
the sight of his disfigured hands was
in front of the eyes
But he tries to move on, be strong and set an example for his younger brother Pepi, who is always by his side. The 10-year-old feeds his father, helps him with his clothes, looks him devotedly in the eyes, but also angers him in a childish way.
“I’m pretty nervous about the situation I’m in,” Millen admits. Feeling the help of acquaintances and strangers from all over Bulgaria, the two are inspired by hope for a better life.
After receiving and getting used to the prostheses, Millen wants to work to help financially the family, which relies only on the father’s salary. She and the mother did not get along – she often left home, returned for a day or two and then disappeared again, the brothers say.
Despite the joyless everyday life, the young man
dreams of one day settling down, having a wife and children
And in the near future to study to become an IT specialist.
“For Milen, the fight will continue, and we will be by his side for everything in the future. We bow to the huge and kind heart of Mikhail, who will give him a new life.
What this young man will do is a huge gesture of kindness that Millen will remember for a lifetime! After fitting the prostheses and passing the rehabilitation, we will also look for a job for him,” says Radostin Georgiev, manager of the foundation that organized the charity campaign and took care of the two brothers from Debelt.
During one of the trips to Sofia to try on the prostheses, Milen and Pepi visited Radostin at his home.
“I cooked moussaka for them because they said they loved it very much, I took them around Sofia. They both really liked it,” says Rado. With part of the donated funds, volunteers from the foundation and Millen’s classmates repaired the house – doors, window frames were replaced, air conditioners, laminate were installed, and new equipment was purchased.
Even the electricity bills, which are unbearable for the family, have been paid, the house taxes have been paid, the internet has been provided for the next 2 years, and the brothers have new phones and a laptop.
“Many people donated, gifts are still arriving for the two boys, and the collected funds are close to BGN 50,000.
Both Milen and Pepi will visit a psychologist,
because they need it. We are doing everything possible for Pepi to improve his success at school, he is a fourth-grader,” says Radostin Georgiev.
And he describes on social networks every volunteer action at Milen’s home and every time he goes to Sofia for prosthetics.
“Last weekend was filled with a lot of emotions and a lot of work. Fortunately, the weather was also with us – sunny and warm. We improved the home of the two boys, cleaned the yard, painted, brought in new furniture and appliances, and that’s not all.” says the foundation.
And in a post on Facebook: “Today, 10 guys, Millen’s classmates, joined our team to help. Wonderful young guys, for whom it was not important to drink coffee somewhere, but to get involved and help Milen and his brother live better. These young guys are an example.”
When asked what else they need, Millen snaps: “Nothing, we got so much.”
And he is waiting with trepidation for the moment when he will put on the prostheses. He believes in God and thinks he has been given a test that will make him stronger. But it’s happening slowly and hard, because he still can’t forget that first day of work.
The pellet machine started normally, but at one point it pulled his hand. He instinctively tried to pull it out with the other, but lost both. One to the wrist, the other to the elbow.
“24 Chasa” nominated Mihail Hristov for his “Dignified Bulgarians” initiative.
Tags: Milen Debelt lost hands accident days receive prosthetics Mihail Hristov hands
-
