Five Minutes at the Epicenter of Hell

Olga Dyakova from the Russian city of Omsk was at the epicenter of an explosion, lost 80 percent of her skin but survived
On that day Olga and her 19-year-old daughter Angelica wanted to get some potato out of the cellar. The cellar was in a garage where the family's car stood. Olga's husband Eduard drove the car out of the garage and went home (the garage stands close to the house where the family lives). When Olga entered the cellar she smelled gas and knew that she should not strike which would illuminate the cellar. Olga left the cellar and told the husband that although the cellar had been ventilated within two weeks, the smelling of gas was still strong. A bit later the woman decided to get down to the cellar once again. She thought the smelling of gas had left the room. The daughter was waiting at the entrance to the cellar waiting for the mother to pass her some potatoes. As soon as the woman entered the cellar, she struck a match.

Olga says she realized perfectly well what happened next. She felt an explosion. When she opened her eyes she was shocked to see that her skin had turned into something terrible. It looked like potato peels, it was black and loose. She says she didn't feel pain at that moment. She took the skin and detached it as the burnt skin peeled off the body easily.  

The strong blast wave threw the girl backwards; at the very last moment Angelica instinctively turned aside. Her hands and back were severely burnt. The explosion knocked out the doors and scattered things about the garage. The scene looked like a Hollywood thriller.

Olga's husband, Eduard tells he was at home when he heard terrible thunder. "When I got out of the house I understood everything. My heart stopped for fear for my wife and daughter. I rushed to the garage, but had no notion whether they were alive or not. First I saw my daughter, then I heard the wife crying from the cellar. She wanted to get out of the cellar immediately. The garage was a total chaos, the cellar was blocked. I immediately started raking away the entrance to the cellar, got down and took my wife out. When I saw her in broad daylight I was shocked. The clothes burnt down, I saw she suffered terribly. I seated my wife and daughter into the car and we went to a burns medical center."
 
Recently, Angelica has been discharged from the hospital where the girl spent three weeks. Her life is out of danger now. Unfortunately, Olga's condition is much worse: over 80% of her body is covered with grave burns. There is safe skin only on her face and feet. Several years ago this diagnosis meant a fatal outcome.

Now the burns medical center of Omsk has a new unique apparatus that helps cure the most dangerous burns.

Head Physician of the burns center Viktor Fyodorov says that in a month after the incident the condition of the patient is still very grave. Now doctors have to fight against pneumonia that broke out as a result of the burn disease. Recovery of the patient now depends upon herself; Olga has to work hard to get better.

The new apparatus looks like a bath; the woman lies motionless in it and feels as if she is in the state of weightlessness. This apparatus saves the woman from bedsores and aches. However, Olga's body urgently needs movement; that is why she must overcome pain and move as much as possible. She must inflate balloons to exercise her lungs. 

Olga's husband and mother are watching by her bedside taking turns. Eduard says: "Olga behaves really brave, although her condition is still very grave. Once she even asked me to bring some beer; she took just two sips but was really very happy. So, she is reviving slowly," Eduard says, but his eyes are sad.

Olga is in for a very serious operation, skin transplantation; in fact, there will be several operations. Let's wish Olga and her doctors luck and patience.