Sarah Kanowski

And what was it like to be with him in person and meet his family?

that war is still going on.

How is Yuri and his family doing?

For you, Deb, having made this extraordinary journey really that clearly was so important to you and so meaningful to you, how did you feel different about coming back to your own life in Melbourne after this journey?

And for you personally, Deb, I mean, through your time in the police force, you obviously had that incredibly traumatic experience of being there on the day of that bombing, as well as all of the other things you would have encountered during your years as an officer.

Was visiting Yuri and a country at war, I mean, did that shift any of those memories or reframe them in any way for you?

Deb, it's extraordinary, the story that you have to tell.

Are you still knitting Yuri bears?

I so appreciate you sharing some of your really extraordinary story on conversations.

Thank you, Deb.

Deborah Richardson was my guest on Conversations today.

And if you're a Facebook user, then take a look at the Conversations page because Deb has shared some really amazing photos of her and Yuri and her trip to Ukraine and, of course, those Yuri bears.

This conversation was recorded on the lands of the Turrbal and Yagera peoples and it was produced by Genleek.

Our executive producer is Nicola Harrison.

I'm Sarah Konoski.

Thanks for listening.

ABC Listen.

Podcasts, radio, news, music and more.

Obviously a major malfunction.

Sita Walker grew up in Toowoomba, west of Brisbane.