MARYVILLE, Tenn. — A Ukrainian woman and her three children made it back safely to East Tennessee. In early February they traveled to Ukraine to see her father near the end of his life. They said died the day Russia dropped the first bomb of this war on Ukraine.
Adrain Camerton lived in Ukraine with his wife Veronika Zawada for around 13 years before moving to Maryville around a year-and-a-half ago. They said they moved to provide a better life for their three kids.
He worked as a journalist and political analyst in Ukraine from 2005 to 2020. That's where he said he met his wife — Veronika Zawada. They have three children together: Matthew Zawada, 10, is in fourth grade at Coulter Grove, Mark Zawada, 6, is in first grade at Sam Houston, and Evelina Zawada, 5, is in pre-K Sam Houston.
Zawada left early February to be at her father's bedside in her native village of Mala Derevychka, Liubar district, Zhytomyr region of Ukraine. It is around 143 miles west of Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine and the site of a lot of fighting.
"I was telling her not to go. I was really worried about it," he said.
Entering what is now a war zone, Zawada boarded an airplane to Ukraine with their three children. Camerton stayed behind and prayed for his family's safe return as Zawada crossed an ocean to see her father one last time.
"My daughter is 5 years old and looked back at me and just did this kind of wave," he said, both feeling a sense of uncertainty in their goodbye.
Zawada said she felt it was her duty to take care of her father in Ukraine because he had a terminal form of lung cancer.
"We spent a very nice time with my daddy. It's sad to think about that but at the same time, he could see his grandchildren. We could hug each other," Zawada said.
"She was distraught because she couldn't be with him and at the same time she was compelled to go be with him," Camerton said.
Flying into a new airport, driving past new apartment buildings and through an urban city, Zawada said at the time, the idea of war was hard to accept.
"My friends, my parents, my relatives are leaving and I was thinking, 'It's impossible.' You cannot imagine the war," she said.
As the sound of war drums grew closer, Camerton tried to get them home even sooner than originally planned, but Veronika wasn't ready to leave her father's side.
"Every day the war drums are beating louder and louder, but she was steadfast at his bedside," Camerton said.
Zawada's father grew weaker by the day she said, as anxiety grew from the threat of war. The family said he died as the first bombs began to drop on Ukraine.
"He died holding my hand and I closed his eyes and life stopped for me because that was the worst moment of my life. My daddy died and the war started and everything happened in one moment," Zawada said.
Life for the family and millions of others changed in an instant. Camerton was worried his wife and kids wouldn't make it out of Ukraine safely.
"There are all these scenes on TV and the internet of these long lines of thousands of people," he said.
"It was one of the most hopeless moments because you don't know in which direction you should go, and I have three children and I am responsible for their lives and their safety," Zawada said.
With many contacts in Ukraine telling them the lines to cross the border were as much as three days long, Zawada persevered.
The family found help from Ukrainian and Polish groups. With them, they were able to make it across the border into Poland.
"It was amazing how people in such difficult situations can pull together," she said.
"As if everything, the road was paved and cleared all the way through," Camerton said.
Zawads said she did have a plan prepared for war in case it were to happen, but didn't expect to use it.
"I was sure I would have enough time to escape," she said.
When it actually became time her escape plan, she said, she couldn't. The resources were gone. Many in the area were losing power, water and internet connections.
"No busses, no trains, no planes, everything was stopped in one moment," Zawada said.
Relying on her faith in God, prayers from loved ones, and the help of others along the way, she made it out but had to leave so many people behind in Ukraine.
Now, Camerton said, he can take a deep breath knowing they're safe. He and Zawada are happy about the safe return but still have so many in Ukraine that their hearts are breaking for.
That family is grateful they are together but Zawads said she knows firsthand that the people of her home country are starving for the very basics, food, shelter and medical help.
She hopes by sharing her story, we'll see more donations to the Ukrainian people.