After our very pleasant time in Lutsk, it was on to Lviv….where we had lectured 2 years ago; this time the focus was, of course, Trauma Resuscitation, not Cardiac. Drs. Nunez and Scheinberg and Cherrie loved Lviv as much as I do…and the lectures went splendidly with great audience interaction.

Then it was on to Vinnitsa on an overnight train Friday night, June 26th.  We arrived at a great little 4 room Hotel in Vinnitsa, the Churchill Inn.  After a quick day in Vinnitsa Saturday site seeing…including the Hitler bunker “Werewolf”, the Pirigov Museum, where their historic figure Dr. Pirigov, founder of many aspects of battlefield medicine, finished his career (and is permanently embalmed, like Lenin, for over 130 years)…..I split from the group to visit with many precious friends from Vinnitsa and neighboring areas at a local restaurant.  Cherrie and Sam Scheinberg were able to go on a tour of Vinnitsa Oblast Holocaust sites and to deliver food to many in need….hosted by local leaders of a Netherlands based group, Christians For Israel.

Then we were on to church Sunday at Vinnitsa Nazarene Church.  Kristina Bolyukh, Dr. Sergei’s grandaughter, sang a solo song in English that pierced my heart.  She said it was a gift to me.  Indeed it was. After church, the entire team and many church members joined for a beautiful luncheon served at Sergei and Olga Bolyukh’s home.

Then, we were on to stay with Ruslan Tkachuk at his Foster Home Sunday night, in Nemia, overlooking Moldova and the Dniester River,  which his wife Archana and he run.  10 kids, all precious, though they were at camp and Arch was still in the USA on a visit….so we had Ruslan’s undivided attention as he gave us a tour of a monastery carved in hillside rock 1000 years ago, and then a walk across the bridge into Moldova briefly for lunch.

On Tuesday, we had our Vinnitsa conference, and I enjoyed seeing many old friends.  After the Vinnitsa conference, it was a quick train to Kyiv…then a very early mornig 0545 flight to Amsterdam for Tim and me, as Cherrie and Sam Scheinberg headed home to Portland via Frankfurt shortly thereafter.

Today Tim and I enjoyed siteseeing in Amsterdam, and now to get a good night’s sleep before the final push home.

This has been an amazing trip.  What a joy to bring to Ukraine such a gifted team.

We are so grateful for the hosting of Dr. Vitaliy Krylyuk; Dr. Sergei Bolyukh; translator and great new friend Dr. Ivan Kuzminsky; driver Sasha; Dr. Irina Stefanenka….and the host of others at all 4 cities where we lectured.  Breakthroughs were made, relationships deepened and I look forward to hosting Dr. Krylyuk at the Boston ACEP 2015 in October.

For the Team,

Brian R. McMurray, MD, FACEP, FACP

ACEP Ambassador to Ukraine

PS  photos to follow of the last half of this great trip….