Dr. Zev Neuwirth Returns To South Florida After 5 Weeks In Ukraine Helping Refugees
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Zev Neuwirth, a local doctor from Miami, has been among the brave volunteers helping Ukrainians.
He's now back in Miami after over five weeks of helping treat refugees. Neuwirth, his two sons and the rest of his crew doing what they can to save as many lives as possible.
"There's a lot of things that we saw, and we experienced in country that every once and a while it does make you take a step back," said Dr. Neuwirth.
"Shots were taken at the ambulance we all hit the ground it was definitely a very, very difficult mission," said Mordechai Neuwirth, Dr. Neuwirth's son.
One moment in particular that stood out: a three-day trip to save a woman who has just given birth in a basement of a bombed-out building.
"Here we have a mom who has some hemorrhaging, we have a newborn baby under devastating conditions to say the least," said Dr. Neuwirth.
He says just getting to her was an issue, they were under fire constantly, but he didn't give up on her.
"She was petrified, scared wouldn't be it. But at the same time grateful that someone was there, even if just to hold her hand. A deep sense of loss she was being uprooted from her home and to uncertainty," said Dr. Neuwirth.
He says helping women and children were the majority of those who needed medical attention while in Moldova and Ukraine.
He funded most of the trip himself, something he says was the least of their worries, they just wanted to help people, like the mother and her newborn son.
"It's giving someone, an infant, a life. And you gave them a world… you can't put it into words what it means to be able to save a mom and a newborn baby and give this kid a life," said Dr. Neuwirth.
He says after the baby fell asleep on him in the ambulance, they now have a bond that will stick with him forever.
Dr. Neuwirth says he goes where he's needed. Neuwirth and his two sons and 12 others will be on his team when they head back to Ukraine in about two weeks.
