Friends!

On this day in 2006 died Ukrainian brilliant surgeon Olexander Shalimov, the world-renowned physician, a man with a unique view on his work, which helped him to made a breakthrough in surgery.

Olexander was born in 1918 in the Lipetsk region, then the family moved to Kuban. The future doctor had 13 brothers and sisters! Parents had some very hard times, because they were ordinary peasants, who had to work hard to feed a large family. Olexander helped his parents, was not afraid of any work, was a shepherd, and carpenter's assistant. At the same time, he studied very well. Due to advances in education, the boy was sent to the Agricultural Institute. He was delighted, but the thing, that changed his life happened: in the tram Olexander stepped up to the woman leg, extremely angered her. Later it turned out that she took the documents for admission to college. The guy did not even approach them, just walked away.

And next year he was able to go to college. However, this time medical. He graduated with honors. Then all graduates were taken to serve, because it was 1941. Olexander did not hit the front just because in youth he suffered some complex diseases, including malaria.

He was sent to work into the gray wilderness, where had to learn from experience, he even could not ask for the advice of anyone - other doctors were at a distance of several hundred kilometers. Then Olexander Shalimov discovered his life credo: always learn. Every day he woke up two hours earlier to read before work about the new diseases, which he did not know.

To Ukraine, the Academy moved in 1957, became an assistant professor of surgery Kharkov Medical Institute. In 1970 he began to work in Kiev, where five years later he founded the Institute of Surgery and Transplantation. Olexandr Shalimov went down in history as the founder of Ukrainian school of surgery, developed 50 new methods of operations, was the author of 870 scientific papers. He could have made an operation on anybody, generally he operated more than 40 thousand patients. After developing a unique method of treatment of pancreatitis he even was offered to become a head of the hospital in Germany, but he stayed. "Who then will treat our people?" - He asked. He loved his institution and work, and colleagues. They told that even when Alexander already had to stop working, he still came to the institute every day. When colleagues talked about new methods of treatment, his eyes was bright, he regretted that he did not think about them earlier.

Although the Ukrainian language was not native to Shalimov, he learned many Ukrainian songs and poems and loved to tell them at various meetings. Generally, he liked the local nature and often led friends and colleagues in the woods or for a walk on the Dnieper.

Friends! Such bright, hardworking people who mind their efforts and create the future of the country is its main value. I am grateful to Olexander for extraordinary contribution to the development of Ukrainian medicine and thousands of lives saved. Eternal memory.