By One of the most famous athletes in the world recently took a break from social media to let a doctor from Ukraine share her story. David Beckham currently has over 71 million followers on Instagram, but this time all eyes were on Dr. Iryna, the head of a perinatal care center in Kharkiv. She used the opportunity to highlight the crisis that’s happening in Ukraine amid the ongoing Russian invasion.
A Special Guest Appearance
The world-famous soccer star and former captain of the English football team handed over his account to Dr. Iryna on Sunday to help her reach as wide of an audience as possible.
“Today I’m going to show you how we work in times of war and who we have become during these war days,” she said after introducing herself.
The take-over was organized by UNICEF. During the event, the doctor, who only gave her first name, posted images and videos of the destruction in Ukraine on Beckham’s Instagram stories. She also talked about how the war is affecting the healthcare industry.
She said she currently works “24/7,” and that her team is “probably risking (their) lives” working during the conflict and that “we love our work.”
In the stories, she wrote about the tragedies she’s witnessed firsthand.
“On the first day of the war, all pregnant women and mothers were evacuated to the basement. It was a terrible three hours that we spent together. Unfortunately, we can’t take babies who are in intensive care to the basement because they rely on life-saving equipment,” she wrote next to photographs of newborns in the intensive care unit connected to oxygen generators.
She also showed images of a young mother whose son was born with breathing problems. In the caption, Iryna wrote the boy is better now, but the family’s home was destroyed, and they can’t go back.
“The first days were the most difficult. We had to learn how to work with bombings and strikes. My workday is 24/7 now, I’m here all day,” Iryna continued.
“Now, I’m not only the head of the center, but I continue to work as a pediatric anesthesiologist. I unload cargo, I work on logistics and offer emotional support.”
The videos show Iryna and her colleagues trying to complete rounds in a dimly lit basement. Mothers cradle their babies on makeshift hospital beds pushed into the corner.
Beckham is also an ambassador for the humanitarian aid agency UNICEF, which is raising money and gathering supplies on behalf of the families and victims of the Russian invasion.
He urged his followers and fans to donate whatever they could to his 7: The David Beckham UNICEF Fund project.
Beckham first announced the initiative in 2015. “Everything I have done, my football career, my family, has led to this point. This is the moment for me to do what I can to help children in every corner of the world,” he told reporters at the time. The fund is set up to “help children in every corner of the world.”
At the end of the social media event. Beckham took a moment to thank everyone involved.
“Thanks to your donations, the oxygen generators they have received are helping newborns survive in appalling conditions,” Beckham said. “Please continue to support these incredible people and charities like UNICEF in any way that you can. Together we can really make a difference.”
The organization thanked Beckham for highlighting such an important cause.
“Thank you @davidbeckham for handing over your account, to Iryna for your heroic work, and to everyone helping children with a donation,” UNICEF wrote in the comments.
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