Man Travels 1,700 Miles To Rescue 83-Year-Old Mother-In-Law Living Alone In Ukraine

An 83-year-old Ukrainian woman thought her destiny was to die alone in her home. But thanks to her son-in-law's efforts, the elderly woman is now safely living in the U.K. The man traveled more than 1,700 miles to rescue her from the war-torn country.

Nadia, aka Babulya, was staying alone in the city of Kharkiv when Russian troops invaded her country. She would take out her hearing aids so she wouldn't have to hear the sound of Russian bombs at night, her son-in-law Michael Felton said, according to BBC.

Meanwhile, her daughter spent "most of her time in tears" as Nadia was ready to stay in her home and die alone "if necessary," the 61-year-old man said. However, after "some coercion," Nadia agreed to leave behind her life in Ukraine and join him in Cheshire.

"I just want her to be with people who are smiling, where she hasn't got to worry about where the next glass of water or slice of bread is coming from," Felton added.

Nadia traveled to the Polish border earlier this month, along with the grandson of a family friend. Her miniature Yorkshire terrier, Ken, also accompanied Nadia on the journey. Along the way, she suffered a terrible fall and had bruises on her face before she met Felton at the Polish border.

The pair then began an "exhausting" 12-day journey back to the U.K. After traveling through Poland by car, they boarded a flight to Paris and reached the French city of Calais by train. They took a ferry to arrive in Dover, England. Her dog was sent to a quarantine facility in Essex.

"It was horrible, she was very distraught and cried for a bit in the car when we drove off… you could see it was very upsetting for her," Felton said, according to Cheshire Live.

Nadia and Felton then drove to Bristol Airport for the final leg of their journey to Ellesmere Port.

She has now "settled in well" in a spare room at a neighbor's house, Felton said.

"She's pretty comfortable and happy now, I go over and put a Russian-speaking comedy show on for her that she likes to watch," Felton reportedly said. "I haven't asked her about the war, mainly because I don't want to make her think about it anymore. She's not looking sad or tearful, or wanting to talk about what's happened… it's almost like she's just accepting it for whatever it is. I would much sooner let her be content, sit and watch her shows, have a laugh, eat food, chat and be comfortable."

Felton reflected on how difficult it is for Ukrainians to leave everything behind in the war-torn country.

"Imagine if someone said to you, here's a suitcase go into your house and pack what you can … and you might never be coming back," he said. "Your whole life boils down to that one suitcase and you've no idea whether you will ever be able to come back to your home or even if it will still be standing the next day."