Hayk Sekhliyan, who was seriously injured in the April war in 2016 and miraculously survived, went to the Federal Republic of Germany in the summer of 2022 thanks to the fundraising organized by the French-Armenian Alina Vardanyan, President of the Amitié Franco-Armenienne Var Est Association.

Hayk returned to his homeland on 5 August. Before leaving, he promised to come back and visit us again. So, Iravaban.net hosted Hayk Sekhliyan again. Alina Vardanyan accompanied him this time.

Alina tells that she learned about Hayk fom a mutual friend.

“I have always heard positive stories about Hayik and there was a desire that we should help. I learned that in 2019, his final treatment was not successful, and I began to communicate with him personally from 2020. When I said that we will help to continue the treatment abroad, he said no, let someone else get that help instead of me. I decided to start this work, sometimes I doubted that such a large amount of money would be collected, but we managed to collect 35,000 Euros,” she said.

It should be noted that in 2019, the Government allocated money for Hayk to receive treatment in Germany, which remained incomplete due to lack of money.

“If the treatment had not been left unfinished because of the money then, I am sure I would have thrown the cane aside,” Hayk says.

Now Hayk has devices attached to both of his legs, thanks to which he will be able to walk again without a cane. The cost of the equipment is 14,000 Euros. However, there are some parts on the equipment that need to be changed every month, which implies additional money: 2 pairs cost 100 Euros. Alina laughs and says that for some time Hayk will have to communicate with her whether he likes it or not.

When Hayk was about to leave for Germany, he told Iravaban.net that his goal was to return without a cane. He is now able to walk without it, but still a few steps. Thanks to the equipment, now he walks a long way, before that he was walking with difficulty, he got tired quickly. He proudly mentioned that he walked around 2 streets to reach the editorial office.

It is not clear how long he will carry the equipment.

“The specialists there said that it depends on the organism. Maybe three months, maybe a year, or, maybe forever. I have not lost my optimism that we should remove it soon. The change is definitely noticeable. In addition to that, after I came here, the September battles began, I left for Jermuk, the main function that the equipment was supposed to perform, seemed to be a little impaired. That is why the desired result is delayed a little. I must take 8,000 steps a day,” he says.

Hayk continues his service and says that if he survived, he still has a mission to fulfill. He also participated in the 44-day Artsakh war. At that time, he was without equipment, now he compares that thanks to the equipment, it has become easier to be physically present at military operations, to perform combat tasks.

“Regardless of everything, I had to be present on the front line. I hardly used the cane in the trenches,” he says.

He even jokes that he tested the effectiveness of the equipment on the battlefield. “I was saying that the when drone falls, you will see how I run away (ed., – laughs).”

Alina emphasizes that Hayk does not have time to rest because of his “stubborn” type, so he will fully devote his time to recovery.

“I was going to the front line and I didn’t know what would happen, whether it would work or not, whether I would be able to walk or not, but my inner voice said: it will be fine, I will walk. Many will prove that even I helped the boys most of the time,” he says.

Now that the motherland is facing new challenges, Alina and Hayk are trying to be useful together on the front line.

Alina brought with her a number of essential items, which have already been distributed in positions.

“On 13 September, I boarded a plane and came. Since everything was there, the first thing that was needed was warm clothes. Hayk checked on the spot and said what was needed, and I decided that I should come and buy the necessary things from here, and I brought medicine with me,” she says.

Now Alina cooperates with some businessmen in Armenia and they provide warm clothes to the boys standing on the front line.

She also emphasizes how important the role of Iravaban.net was, because many people don’t see the result until they see it, they don’t believe it, they don’t trust it, and now the confidence in their work has increased even more.

“If there were people who doubted, thanks to your help they saw and believed, learned about Hayk,” she said.

The footage about Hayk here.

Hasmik Sargsyan