Above: The Alfred hospital adult burns unit director Dr Heather Cleland (front) with her portrait and burns victim Alexis Protopopov, his father The Very Reverend Dr Michael Protopopov, mother Kira Protopopov, and portrait painter from Moscow Vladimir Sobolev at a ball held last Friday which raised $10,000 for the burns unit.Below right: Dancers from the Maslenitsa dance ensemble perform the Travushka.A dancer from the Verba dance ensemble performing a gypsy dance.By Shaun Inguanzo
ALEXIS Protopopov would not have survived being burnt alive without the help of The Alfred hospital’s adult burns unit.
So last Friday the Dandenong Russian community hosted a ball at the Grand International reception centre and raised $10,000 for the hospital to help it continue its lifesaving treatment.
The Russian Welfare Society teamed with the Russian Imperial Order and St John of Kronstadt church to organise the evening that was full of fine food, wine and traditional Russian entertainment.
Russian Welfare Society community development officer Janene Blanchfield Brown said the Russian community wanted to thank The Alfred hospital for saving Alexis’s life after he was severely burnt in a house fire in 2004.
Mr Protopopov is the son of The Very Reverend Dr Michael Protopopov, who is known for his work as dean of the Russian Orthodox Church in Australia and chairman of the Russian Welfare Society in Dandenong South.
Alexis, 37, suffered severe burns to 80 per cent of his body when his Dandenong South house erupted into flames in October 2004.
He was rushed to The Alfred hospital where he was placed in intensive care and later treated by the burns unit.
The Alfred’s adult burns unit director, Dr Heather Cleland, said Alexis’s injuries were rare and life-threatening.
“At The Alfred we admit over 250 patients a year to the adult burns unit,” she said.
“But severe burn injuries are uncommon in the Western world and we may only see 40 severely burnt patients a year.”
Dr Cleland, who was presented with a medal from the Russia Imperial Order at the ball, said that with help from her staff, Alexis was able to live through the ordeal.
The Protopopov family was so impressed with Dr Cleland’s work that it commissioned Moscow artist Vladimir Sobolev to paint a portrait of her and on Friday night, before an audience of hundreds, the family presented the final product to her.
Dr Cleland said Alexis spent the latter part of his recovery phase at the Caulfield Rehabilitation Centre.
“He lost a lot of muscle bulk as a result of the burns,” she said.
“The body almost digests itself when burnt because it needs to create so much energy.”
