Trombonist loses leg, returns to stage and sport
Evgeny Firsov has been playing the trombone in the Novosibirsk Symphony Orchestra for 25 years. He is well known to the public, especially to fans of Vladimir Tolkachev«s big band. When he confidently walks on stage and sometimes limps slightly, you might think this strong, muscular man simply overdid it at the gym. In fact, 13 years ago Evgeny lost his leg. He had to learn to walk again, get used to a prosthesis, and live with phantom pains. But most importantly — he had to find the strength to pick up his instrument again and go on stage. He not only managed that — he shared the details with NGS.RU correspondents.
«We Just Took a Chance»
Until the ninth grade, Evgeny Firsov dreamed of being a pilot, and he ended up at music school by chance: his best friend Stas played the trumpet and asked him to come pick him up after an exam. The music so impressed the boy that he persuaded his friend to introduce him to a teacher.
Through trial and error, it turned out that the best instruments for Evgeny would be the tenor and trombone. At that time the boy lived in Irkutsk Oblast and planned to study in Irkutsk, but a former student of his teacher told him that Novosibirsk had a very strong music college. Of course, he was already expected at the Irkutsk college, but youth won out.
«I knew absolutely nothing about Novosibirsk. When it was time to enroll, my mother and I just bought a ticket and went to Novosibirsk station. We got off, looked around. Where to go and what to do was unknown. So we just went on a wing and a prayer,» said Evgeny Firsov. «We had an address, but we didn«t know where it was. So we just walked from the station.»
His teacher, both at the college and at the conservatory, was Honored Artist of Russia Pavel Mor. The young trombonist started working from his first year, and joined the symphony orchestra of the Novosibirsk Philharmonic in 2001, where he still plays, while also working with Vladimir Tolkachev«s big band.
«Don«t Worry, Vlad, We»ll Show Him How It«s Done»
The Siberian could never sit still: he was into fishing, traveled, had been to Kamchatka and the Kola Peninsula. At the end of winter 2012, he got excited about learning to ski. He went to the Inya ski resort, rented equipment.
«I realize that the first thought in my head was: skiing is not for me. Just not for me at all. But by the end of the session, something caught me — I liked the speed, the snow,» Evgeny admitted.
By the next season he had prepared seriously: he got his own equipment and turned to a professional coach named Vlad. Vlad advised him to control his speed. But Evgeny«s acquaintance Pavel intervened.
««Don«t worry, Vlad, we»ll show him how it«s done!» I didn»t like that phrase even then,» Evgeny recalled, telling about the ill-fated run. «I tried to ski down, but something happened. I realized later that most likely all my weight shifted to the inside ski. I spun so that my left leg twisted around itself, around its own axis. Because of that, the popliteal artery ruptured.»
On his back, the man rolled to the lift barrier, hitting his knees and head — at that moment the helmet saved his life. His legs were very badly injured, especially the left one, which began to swell before his eyes. Evgeny could no longer get up himself; he was brought up with a sled and snowmobile.
«I want to take off my boots and realize that my left calf is like a soccer ball. It turned out that blood was already gushing into it,» the man said. «The ambulance arrived in 40 minutes. I don«t deny it: I fell myself, I was skiing myself, I»m to blame. No one abandoned me, no one pushed me. I fell on a flat slope. But that paramedic who came on the ambulance, in my opinion, misjudged the situation, didn«t understand the severity. She gave me some injection, put on a splint, and said, »Well, that«s it, let»s go.« But I can»t walk. «What, am I supposed to carry you? Find someone.» And she said all this in a bored, calm tone. I even remember her face at that moment.»
First Operation
A friend helped Evgeny reach the ambulance. It was then, the musician recalled, that incredible pain came: without blood, the tissues began to die. The ambulance drove through traffic at 7 p.m. without using its siren. When the doctor at the emergency room cut his pant leg, the leg was already purple. A vascular surgeon was urgently called to the hospital.
The Siberian is certain that if the paramedic had correctly assessed the situation, he would have been on the operating table much earlier than 11 p.m., and that could have saved his leg.
«If blood flow had been restored within two to two and a half hours, everything would have been fine. But if you don«t make it in time, irreversible processes begin. And that»s what happened, basically,» Evgeny said, shaking his head.
Doctors took a vein graft from the man«s thigh; he lost a lot of blood and survived a cardiac arrest. Evgeny spent two weeks in intensive care: doctors checked the sensitivity of his leg every day, and only by the end of the week did he slightly feel a pinch.
«And I remember the words of the doctor, the head of the trauma department. He walked in, looked, and said, «Oh sport, you are life! Yes.» Then turned around and left,» Evgeny said. «They promised to take me for a revision — a second operation to see what the situation was inside.»
«The surgeon said amputation is not the main problem»
On the day of the second operation, there was no talk of amputation; they only discussed a revision. When Evgeny woke up in intensive care, he found himself tied down, and a ventilator was breathing for him.
«I felt normal, no feeling that something was missing. But I look and realize that the blanket is tucked in strangely. I see one leg, but not the other. And then it dawns on me that it«s gone. The nurse shakes her head. I say, »What, the whole foot?« She says, »Above the knee.« I was in shock,» the man recalled.
The surgeon explained that the situation was serious and they had to remove the leg. He added that life doesn«t end there, and moved on to a more important message.
«He said, «Amputation is not the main problem right now. We have another problem: you have sepsis. Yes, blood poisoning. I won»t hide it — the mortality rate is 90%. If you don«t help us, we won»t cope. We will do everything we can, everything possible, everything that depends on us. But if you don«t help us, we won»t cope,» Evgeny Firsov recounted the doctor«s words.
For a week in intensive care, they couldn«t bring down his fever of 40 degrees Celsius (104°F). The doctors did everything they could, and Evgeny admitted that in the first days he didn»t accept what had happened.
«If they had told me, «We»re taking you for an amputation now,« I might have said, »Then you«d better just finish me off right there and be done with it.» Of course, I didn«t accept it at first, but then over time I realized that if I didn»t accept it, I wouldn«t be able to live on. I wouldn»t be able to work, walk, or basically exist,» the Siberian reasoned. «Either you give up and die, or you want to live.»
«It would have been harder in another profession»
He spent three months in the hospital. At first he tried to move on a walker — his head spun, he fell, and he could no longer lean on his left leg.
«I still feel the leg that isn«t there. The toes, foot, ankle, knee. Sometimes it hurts very badly — these are so-called phantom pains. Maybe some tranquilizers dull it, but not painkillers, nothing helps,» Evgeny admitted. «The brain starts sending electrical signals, it thinks the leg is there, but no signal comes back. It doesn»t understand why. And I can say that it feels like an electric shock that actually throws you.»
In 2014, the man flew to Moscow for prosthetics. There new trials awaited him: blood, blisters, fittings. For the entire year after the injury, the man didn«t pick up his instrument — he missed music, but his strength was needed for other things. He returned to the ensemble a year after the accident.
«Of course, I love my instrument,» Evgeny said, shifting the trombone from hand to hand. «I think I was very lucky in this life to get into music. And if I had been in some other profession, most likely it would have been much harder for me.»
The Siberian describes his first feelings after the year-long break like this: «Did I really play this before?» But a couple of weeks were enough to remember everything. In December 2014, Evgeny went on stage. He was nervous, but he coped.
«When you go on stage, there is always a tremor — without that, it«s impossible. If you go on stage and aren»t nervous, you«re wasting your time with music; it»s not your place. Without inner trembling, a living soul, music does not exist,» the musician said, hugging his instrument. «Usually people perceive the trombone as something that either scares with loud sound or buries with a mournful one. In fact, you can play anything on the trombone. Lyrical, romantic, scary, quiet — any music. The instrument«s capabilities depend solely on the musician. And timbre is also a personal marker.»
«I Chose to Live»
And today Evgeny Firsov doesn«t sit at home. Last year he fulfilled a long-standing dream — he went skydiving. He admits the sensations were unforgettable. He regularly goes fishing, raises a daughter, communicates with his already adult son, and finds time for hours-long rehearsals.
During the pandemic, the Siberian gained weight up to 103 kilograms (227 lb) and started having health issues — his back suffered especially. He realized he couldn«t continue like that, so he went to the gym and fixed his diet. Now he weighs 88 kilograms (194 lb).
«Very many people tell me that this is some feat: «You went through such a thing.» Yes, I went through it. But I don«t consider it a feat or heroism. In such a situation, the choice is always small. I chose to live,» the man emphasized.
He added that pity from other people not only doesn«t help but irritates and hurts. Evgeny advises helping only if asked. Overall, a person with a prosthesis can handle most tasks himself: driving a car, raising children, and battling giant fish while fishing.
«To all people who are currently going through or have gone through amputation, I would like to say that our technology does not stand still. It is developing, there are prostheses, you can walk on them, you can live with them. You can do almost everything,» Evgeny Firsov assured. «Most limitations are largely in our heads. There are people who, having double leg amputations, climb Everest. So what other thoughts could there be?»
This spring, he intends to get a motorcycle license — he just needs to pass the practical part of the exam. Evgeny says he lives life to the fullest and has no intention of stopping, let alone getting discouraged.
Last year, we told the story of an amazing 10-year-old female soccer player: she lost a leg in an accident and now runs on crutches alongside the boys.
