Children of a Ukraine aid worker and his wife who both broke their necks in a moped crash have had to leave school to help the family pay their bills.
Darius Linkus, 41, from Felixstowe, and pal Oliver Horsman were on ITV ’s This Morning as they helped deliver 350 tonnes of medical aid to Ukraine last year after they launched a Facebook campaign.
They were one of the first volunteers to take aid to Ukraine which Darius able to facilitate with his contacts as he worked in the import and export industry.
After the arduous trip to the warzone, Darius and his wife Saule, 41, decided on a short trip to Spain and that was where they had the horrific injuries from a moped crash.
With the family suddenly hit by crisis with both parents suffering severe back injuries Oliver told of how impressively the kids have come to the fore to help out.
Agne, eight, Mante, 16 and Paulius, 19, have all had to deal with the traumatic situation, and their grandma has also helped looked after them with the parents in hospital.
Both of the older kids have decided to drop their studies to help the family financially.
“Agne is only eight and so the impact hasn’t really affected her about what has happened but Paulius has said that he is ready to deal with the situation," Oliver told The Mirror
"He was planning to carry on studying but now will get a job and the same with the 16-year-old she is leaving school and won’t do her A levels to help out.
“There are so many costs with the mortgage, medical bills and they are unable to work.
“Darius is finding it hard come to terms with the situation and accept that he is not going to be able to walk again. I’ve told him not to give up hope but also understand the reality of the situation.
“I’m sure his wife has PTSD and it is as though she is finding it hard to understand where she is. But the 16-year-old and 19-year-old have really stepped up which is really good to see.”
Oliver told how Darius spent three months in hospital in Spain before he could get back to the UK and is now being treated at Ipswich Hospital as well as a specialist centre in Sheffield.
He has now been told by doctors he will not be able to walk again.
“After they got back after the stress and strain of the trip to Ukraine, Darius and his wife went for two days to Spain where they rented a moped,” Oliver said of the accident.
“Then they both broke their backs or necks, she shattered her shoulder and he broke his back and so they were both left wondering if they would ever walk again.
“They had emergency surgery in Spain. It was one of those mopeds with two wheels at the front and when he swerved to avoid a rock they both went flying forward. He’s now been told 100% he won’t be able to walk again.
“It happened in September, we were left trying to sort out the insurance and get them back home. The NHS incredibly paid to get him back after he was in Spain getting treatment for three months.
“He is trying to face up to the reality, he is a very proud person but he can’t get up stairs and he needs the house to be sorted for him.
“His wife can feel her arm but she can’t move it and she is in a lot of pain which she has been told she is going to have to live with, it is not sure what chances there are of her being able to move her arm again.”
But Oliver said that even lying in his bed after the accident, Darius has been trying to arrange for more aid to be sent to Ukraine.
“It was a bit of a frog in throat moment. He knew he was paralysed at that point but he was like, ‘I’ve got to do something’. It’s pretty crazy that he now needs other people’s help really – pretty tragic,” he said.
Oliver is trying to raise money for the family and has launched a gofundme page with the aim of raising £20,000.
He is fundraising for a wet room “so at least he can have a quality of life” and also an electrical bed.
“He’s a very proud man, super giving, will literally give you the shirt off his back,” said Mr Horsman. “He’s not the kind of person who would put a page out there asking for help. He’s agreed finally, after months and months of me pushing him, for me to put that post up there. I just thought I had to help. He kind of inspired me.”
Donations to the GoFundMe page can be made here.
