Daryna (name changed to protect her identity) anxiously counts hours, all day, every day, and every night.
The seven-and-a-half month pregnant young Ukrainian woman has found refuge in Australia, but her husband, Ole, is in the military in Ukraine, defending his country against Russia.
They have a pact that at least every seven hours, Ole will send Daryna a text - or at least a thumbs up emoji - to let her know he is okay. Of course, that isn't always possible, so Daryna is living in a heightened state of constant worry.
They do not even know where in the Ukraine he is fighting, as he is not allowed to disclose his location.
Related: Voice of Real Australia: Ukraine's suffering felt in every corner of regional Australia
Daryna has found a haven, physically at least, at her sister-in-law Tetiana's home in Brisbane. She fled her country with the help of Tetiana, who organised emergency visas and logistics for Darya to get to Australia on humanitarian grounds.
Daryna and Tetiana visited the Mid Coast over Easter as guests of Rodney O'Regan at Hillville.
Rodney had met Tetiana and her friend Anna in Vietnam, while he was on a Tunnel Rats tour, and Tetiana was working as a translator. He invited the girls to visit in Australia, and they did. Tetiana later moved here, and has been living here now for five years.
On the very day the Russians started the military assault on the Ukraine, Daryna, then six months pregnant, was at a maternity hospital in Kyiv as an outpatient for her regular pregnancy check up.
"She got stuck at the maternity hospital and they were hiding in a basement. And the Russians were on purpose bombing and shooting (the) maternity hospital," Tetiana explained, acting as interpreter for Daryna.
From Australia, Tetiana was constantly monitoring the actions of the Australian government in hopes of getting Daryna to Australia.
"As soon as I saw that they (were) processing the visas fast, I started that visa application for her and I called my brother and told her (to) get out of the of the hospital and straight onto the train."
After waiting for hours, Daryna boarded a train packed with hundreds of other people also trying to flee the city, travelling to Western Ukraine overnight.
"They were in one (compartment) for for two people. There were seven people and a child, and a dog. And that's how it was for about nine hours," Tetiana said.
Daryna crossed the Polish border on foot, an ordeal that took some hours, where relatives of friends of Tetiana picked her up to stay at their place overnight. Early the next morning she was taken to Warsaw, where she boarded a plane to begin the three-flight journey to Brisbane, where she is now staying with Tetiana.
Daryna and Tetiana are not just worried for Ole. Tetiana's other two brothers, cousins and 93-year-old grandmother are still in the Ukraine.
"My grandmother survived the Second World War and famine, and other genocide that was happening in Ukraine in the last century," Tetiana said.
"She doesn't leave (her apartment) at all. She just stays indoors all the time because the Russian army (doesn't) treat elderly people nicely. So she's scared even to leave her apartment.
It's 60 days of war (so far). It's heartbreaking.
- Tetiana
"My aunt and my nephews and nieces, they're actually in the occupied territory."
Tetiana and Daryna are also scared and worried for Daryna's parents and little brother. It's not the first time Daryna's family has had to flee their home.
"In 2014 When Russians first entered and took over parts of Ukrainian territory, Daryna's parents and (Daryna) and her little brother, they fled and they left their home behind in Luhansk region. So they lost that home in 2014," Tetiana explained.
"They bought an apartment in Kharkiv. That's another city that you probably (have recently) seen in the news. And now it's most likely that that apartment does not exist anymore. So yes, they have lost two homes already."
Darnya, she's been through so much and she's constantly talking to psychologists and she's having nightmares and she's so traumatised with what she's been through.
- Tetiana
Daryna makes a point to avoid seeing any footage of the war.
"Because of the trauma that she received and because she's pregnant she also shouldn't be looking at any anything like that," Tetiana said. "Darnya, she's been through so much and she's constantly talking to psychologists and she's having nightmares and she's so traumatised with what she's been through."
When asked what her plans are when the war is over, Daryna says, "I really want to go home. but we'll see how this all unfolds. And we'll consider our options later.
"Because even if the war ends anytime soon, it's going to be (an) humanitarian catastrophe in Ukraine. So it's going to be extremely difficult to survive."
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Julia Driscoll
Julia Driscoll has worked as a journalist for the Wingham Chronicle and Manning River Times for seven years. She values the deep connection with community that being a rural and regional journalist brings. Career highlights have involved environmental stories - bringing the plight of the little known endangered Manning River helmeted turtle to the attention of the public, resulting in wide-spread knowledge in the community and conservation action; and breaking the news of the Manning River ceasing to run for the first time in recorded history.
Julia Driscoll has worked as a journalist for the Wingham Chronicle and Manning River Times for seven years. She values the deep connection with community that being a rural and regional journalist brings. Career highlights have involved environmental stories - bringing the plight of the little known endangered Manning River helmeted turtle to the attention of the public, resulting in wide-spread knowledge in the community and conservation action; and breaking the news of the Manning River ceasing to run for the first time in recorded history.
