Kiev , Ukraine ( CNN ) -- As violence raged on Thursday in central Kiev , 21-year-old volunteer medic Olyesa Zhukovska was providing first aid to wounded protesters when she was struck in the neck by a sniper 's bullet . `` I 'm dying , '' she tweeted as blood gushed from her throat . Even as her prediction proved wrong , her tweet was immortalized as it ricocheted across the Internet . Two days later , from a hospital bed , she recalled the moment when she was struck . `` I heard a loud bang , '' she told CNN . `` At first , I thought it was a grenade , but then my friend said , 'You have been hit by a sniper ; you are bleeding . ' Both our hands were full of blood . '' The bullet had pierced her neck , somehow missing vital vessels , but doing serious damage nonetheless . `` It is very hard for me to speak and it hurts to eat , '' she said weakly . `` I 'm starting to walk again ; I lost a lot of blood . '' At the time she was shot , Zhukovska was on a front line in the battle between opposition and security forces trying to help the wounded . She was lucky . Dozens of other demonstrators who were defending the barricades in Independence Square were killed on Thursday , nearly a third of them by snipers . The location had been transformed Saturday into a memorial . At the hospital , Zhukovska 's parents were by her side on Saturday , offering succor even as their daughter 's spirit remained defiant . `` We are waiting for new elections , '' she said weakly . `` We want a different president , a different government and a better situation in Ukraine . '' Zhukovska said she was glad her tweet had reached so many people ; her parents were glad it proved wrong . CNN 's Tom Watkins contributed to this story .
`` I 'm dying , '' 21-year-old medic tweets . Olyesa Zhukovska was shot in the neck by a sniper . A weak voice , still defiant : `` We are waiting for new elections ''