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Avetis Zargaryan, an Armenian soldier who was seriously wounded during the 2016 April war, currently continues his treatment at Heratsi No. 1 Hospital Complex in Yerevan, Armenia. To note, in January 2017 Avetis was transferred to Moscow hospital to receive rehabilitation therapy.

We met Avetis Zargaryan one year ago at Yerevan Central Clinical hospital. At that time, he was not able to speak; he was only looking around with sad eyes and was waiting for a miracle.

One year later Panorama.am already meets with this modest, taciturn, but strong-willed young man at No. 1 Hospital Complex. This time Avetis Zargaryan is eager to speak.

“I am in high moods. I am feeling well and ready to fight. I hope everything is going to be fine,” the April war participant told the correspondent of Panorama.am.

Avetis Zargaryan, 19 was wounded during Talish military operation, receiving gunshot wound in the jaw. The bullet penetrated into his spine, damaging vertebra and spinal cord. Although doctors exerted every effort to save the soldier’s life, chances were little. Avetis has been hooked-up to a ventilator for more than a month for the mentioned period, undergoing three surgeries – operating on the jaw with multi-fragmented wound, removing the bullet from the spine and next restoring the damaged bone of the hand.

Avetis was cared for in the Military Hospital for several months. On 26 January 2017, he was transferred to Moscow, where he received rehabilitation therapy for three months. In his words, the treatment has been useful and has further strengthened his spine.

Although Avetis manages to move his hands now, he is still unable to move his fingers. The doctors are using acupuncture and massages to gain results.

Avetis Zargaryan returned Armenia in November 2014 to serve in the Armenian Army. During 1 year and 3 months of military service in Artsakh, he never complained about his service. No matter how hard Avetis tries not to think back to the April incidents, his injuries and the friends that he lost to the war are constant reminders of the war.

Avetis’s parents were in Russia when their son was wounded and upon hearing the news, they rushed to Armenia.

Haykaz Zargaryan, Avetis’s father, says that the doctors are hopeful that his son would walk again; they only need to be patient. “There is no other way; I must walk. With persistence and willpower, I am trying not to be broken.

Avetis still needs to undergo new surgeries in the throat and jaw, however, the primary concern of his parents is that their son manages to walk again.

To note, the Zargaryan family used to live in Getashen village of Artsakh. During the first Artsakh war, they left their settlement and established in Vardenis town of Armenia’s Gegharkunik Province. A few years ago, they left for Russia to find a job.

The Zargaryans left for Russia selling their house in Vardenis and have no property in Armenia. They have left their job in Russia after Avetis was wounded. Today they are living in a rented house in Yerevan. The family members are not working. They cannot manage to work, since their son needs then every moment.