Trombonist Loses Leg Skiing, Returns to Stage and Sports
Yevgeny Firsov has been playing the trombone in the Novosibirsk Symphony Orchestra for 25 years. He is well-known to audiences, especially fans of Vladimir Tolkachov«s big band. When he confidently walks onto the stage and occasionally limps slightly, you might think this sturdy, muscular man simply overdid it at the gym. In reality, 13 years ago, Yevgeny lost his leg. He had to relearn how to walk, get used to a prosthesis, and live with phantom pain. But most importantly — he found the strength to pick up his instrument again and return to the stage. He managed not only that — he shared the details with NGS correspondents.
«Just Took a Chance»
Until ninth grade, Yevgeny Firsov dreamed of being a pilot, and he ended up in music school by chance: his best friend Stas played the trumpet and asked him to pick him up after an exam. The music so impressed the boy that he persuaded his friend to introduce him to the teacher.
Through trial and error, it turned out that the best instruments for Yevgeny would be the tenor horn and trombone. At the time, the boy lived in the Irkutsk region and planned to study in Irkutsk, but a former student of Yevgeny«s teacher told him that Novosibirsk had a very strong music college. In Irkutsk, the young man was of course already expected, but youth took its course.
«I knew absolutely nothing about Novosibirsk. When it was time to apply, my mom and I just bought tickets and went to the Novosibirsk train station. We got out, looked around. Where to go and what to do — unknown. And we just took a chance,» Yevgeny Firsov said. «We had an address, but we didn»t know where it was. We just walked from the station.«
His teacher both in college and at the conservatory was Pavel Mor, a Honored Artist of Russia. The young trombonist started working from his first year, and he joined the Symphony Orchestra of the Novosibirsk Philharmonic in 2001, where he still plays, combining it with work in Vladimir Tolkachov«s big band.
«Don»t Worry, Vlad, We«ll Get Him Rolling!»
The Siberian could never sit still: he was passionate about fishing, traveled, and had been to Kamchatka and the Kola Peninsula. At the end of winter 2012, he became enthusiastic about learning to ski. He came to the Inya ski resort and rented equipment.
«I understand that my first thought was: alpine skiing — not for me. Really not for me at all. But by the end of the run, something still hooked me; I liked that speed, the snow,» Yevgeny admitted.
By the next season, he had prepared seriously: he acquired his own equipment and turned to a professional trainer, Vlad. Vlad advised him to control his speed. But Yevgeny«s acquaintance Pavel intervened.
«»Don«t worry, Vlad, we»ll get him rolling!« I didn»t like that phrase even then,« Yevgeny recalled, telling about the ill-fated descent. »I tried to slide down, but something happened. I later realized that most likely, all my weight shifted onto the inner ski. It spun me around so that my left leg twisted around itself, around its own axis. Because of that, the popliteal artery ruptured.«
On his back, the man slid to the lift fence, hitting his knees and head — at that moment, the helmet saved his life. His legs were badly injured, especially the left one, which started swelling before his eyes. Yevgeny couldn«t stand up on his own; he was brought up using a sled and a 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 there,» the man said. «The ambulance arrived in 40 minutes. I»m not making excuses: I fell myself, I was skiing myself, it«s my own fault. No one abandoned me, no one pushed me. I fell on a flat spot. But that paramedic who came with the ambulance, in my opinion, misassessed the situation, didn»t understand the severity. Gave some injection, applied a splint, and said: «Well, that»s it, let«s go.» But I can«t walk. »What, should I drag you? Find someone.« And she said all this so boredly, calmly. I even remember her face at that moment.»
First Operation
An acquaintance helped Yevgeny get to the ambulance. It was then, the musician recalled, that incredible pain came: without blood, the tissues began to die. The ambulance at 7 p.m. drove through traffic without special signals. When in the hospital emergency room the doctor cut open his pant leg, the leg was already purple. A vascular surgeon was urgently called to the hospital.
The Siberian is sure that if the paramedic had correctly assessed the situation, he would have been on the operating table not closer to 11 p.m., but much earlier, and this could have saved his leg.
«If within two to two and a half hours they had restored blood supply, everything would have been fine. But if you don»t make it in time, irreversible processes begin. And they did begin,« Yevgeny shook his head.
The doctors took a vein graft from the man«s thigh, he lost a lot of blood and experienced cardiac arrest. Yevgeny 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 pinprick.
«And I remember the phrase of the doctor, the head of the trauma department. He came in, looked, said: »Oh sport, you are life! Yes.« Turned around and left,» Yevgeny said. «They promised they would take me for revision — a second operation to see what the situation was inside.»
«Surgeon Said Amputation Was Not the Main Problem»
On the day of the second operation, there was no talk of amputation, only revision was mentioned. When Yevgeny woke up in intensive care, he found himself tied up, and a ventilator was breathing for him.
«Felt as usual, no sensation that something was missing. But I look and understand that the blanket is tucked in strangely. I see one leg, but the second one — I don»t. And then it dawns on me that it«s not there. The nurse shakes her head. I say: »What, the whole foot?« She: »Above the knee.« I»m in shock,« the man recalled.
The surgeon explained that the situation was severe 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 now. You and I have another problem: you have sepsis. Yes, blood poisoning. I won«t hide it — mortality is 90%. If you don»t help us, we won«t manage. We»ll do everything we can, everything possible, everything that depends on us. But if you don«t help us, we won»t manage,«» Yevgeny Firsov recounted the doctor«s words.
For a week in intensive care, they couldn«t bring down his temperature of 40 degrees Celsius (104°F). The doctors did everything they could, and Yevgeny admitted that in the first days he didn»t accept what had happened.
«If they had told me, like, we»re taking you for amputation now, I might have said: «Better finish me off right there — and that»s it.« Of course, I didn»t accept it at first, but over time I understood that if I don«t accept it, I won»t be able to live further. Won«t be able to work, walk, exist in principle,» the Siberian reasoned. «Either you give up and die, or you want to live.»
«In Another Profession, It Would Have Been Harder for Me»
He spent three months in the hospital. At first, he tried to move with 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 dampen it, but not painkillers, nothing helps,« Yevgeny admitted. »The brain starts sending electrical signals, it thinks there«s a leg there, but no signal returns from it. It doesn»t understand why. And I can say that by sensation, it«s like an electric shock that even jolts you.»
In 2014, the man flew to Moscow for prosthetics. There, new trials awaited him: blood, calluses, fittings. For a whole year after the injury, the man didn«t pick up his instrument — he missed the music, but his strength was needed for other things. He returned to the collective a year after the fall.
«Of course, I love my instrument,» Yevgeny shifted the trombone from hand to hand. «I think I was very lucky in this life that I ended up in music. And if I were in some other profession, most likely, it would have been much harder for me.»
The Siberian describes the first sensations 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, Yevgeny went on stage. He was nervous, but he managed.
«When you go on stage, there»s always trepidation — without it, it«s impossible. If you go on stage and don»t get nervous, you«re wasting your time with music, it»s not your place. Without inner trepidation, a living soul, music doesn«t exist,» the musician hugged his instrument. «Usually, the trombone is treated like this: it should either scare with a loud sound or bury with a mournful one. Actually, on the trombone you can play anything. Lyrical, romantic, scary, quiet — any music. The instrument»s possibilities depend exclusively on the musician. And the timbre — that«s also a personal marker.»
«I Chose to Live»
And today, Yevgeny Firsov doesn«t sit at home. Last year, he fulfilled his long-held dream — he jumped with a parachute. He admits the sensations were unforgettable. He regularly goes fishing, raises his daughter, communicates with his now adult son, and manages hours-long rehearsals.
During the pandemic, the Siberian gained weight up to 103 kilograms (227 lbs) and became ill — his back suffered especially. He realized it couldn«t continue like this and went to the gym, fixed his diet. Now he weighs 88 kilograms (194 lbs).
«Very many people tell me it»s some kind of deed: «You went through that.» Yes, I went through it. But I don«t consider it some deed or feat. In such a situation, the choice is always small. I chose to live,» the man emphasized.
He added that other people«s pity not only doesn»t help, but irritates and hurts. Yevgeny advises helping only if asked. Overall, a person with a prosthesis can handle most tasks themselves: drive a car, raise children, fight giant fish while fishing.
«To all people who are now going through or have gone through amputation, I would like to say that our technologies are not standing still. They are developing, prostheses exist, you can walk on them, you can live on them. You can do practically everything,» Yevgeny Firsov assured. «Most limitations, by and large, are in our heads. There are people who, having bilateral leg amputations, climb Everest. So, what other thoughts can there be?»
This spring, he intends to get a motorcycle license — he has left the practical part of the exam. Yevgeny says he lives life to the fullest and doesn«t plan to stop, let alone despair.
Last year, we told the story of an amazing 10-year-old soccer player: she lost her leg in an accident, and now runs with a crutch on par with the boys.
