Ani Avetisyan, the Syunik resident who was shot by an Azerbaijani soldier who breached Armenia’s border last month, underwent a third surgery to repair the damage caused when she was shot by the intruder, who held her children at gunpoint. 

Avetisyan told News.am that the surgery was successful, but she and her family continue to suffer the consequences of the home invasion.

“I’m in pain all day, I’m taking painkillers. The surgery was on November 6, they operated on my femur, they said that the bone was completely crushed, with a gap under my knee. Now they’ve cleaned it, cut it from the upper part of the femur, and adjusted. The bone will grow from above, it will join the lower part,” Avetisyan told News.am.

“Now they’ve implanted metal rods. They said that the new result will be visible in three to four months. It is assembled with metal bolts from below my knee to the upper part of the thigh. It will remain like this, they will put in another piece of equipment to stretch and lengthen the leg,” Avetisyan said, adding that another surgery might be required later.

She told News.am that her children are still living with their grandmother in one of the villages in the town of Massis, where they are attending school.

Despite attempting to live a normal life, the condition of Avetisyan’s son, who was also shot in the hand by the Azerbaijani soldier, has not changed and doctors say that his bones have not yet healed.

Avetisyan said that her daughter’s psychological state has also not changed, explaining that when she is left alone she beings to panic.

She emphasized that the surgery was carried out with state funding. The necessary medication and medical care are also provided to her completely free of charge.

Azerbaijani soldier Nasimi Musayev breached Armenia’s sovereign border on October 1 and entered Avetisyan’s house in the Shaki village in Sisian. Having been alerted by her daughter about an intruder at their house, Avetisyan rushed home to find her children were being held at gunpoint.

Musayev fired shots at Avetisyan and her son, but fled the scene after Avetsiyan stabbed him in self defense.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and other government officials have downplayed the incident, calling it a “random” criminal act. They also blamed Avetisyan, claiming that she should have waited for law enforcement.