Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Bomb Victim Gets Legs

April 2, 2007STOCKTON — The war in the former Yugoslavia took family and friends of an eleven year old boy and a bomb he found took his legs. But now with the generosity of others he's getting a new start.Chuck Stockert with Hanger Prosthetics and Orthotics said, "His life just beginning, we've just opened his life back up again."19-year old Daniel Ivic was just fitted for two prosthetic legs. The people at Hanger Prosthetics and Orthotics in Stockton say it will take him a while to get used to them. Ivic lost his legs eight years ago when he came upon an un-detonated cluster bomb in his war town country of Kosovo. He found part of a cluster bomb he picked it up and suddenly the bomb just exploded, it took his legs and eye.That was in 1999 during the time the United States and NATO were bombing the former Yugoslavia trying to bring to an end to Slobodan Milosovic and his ethnic cleansing that the U.S. claimed took two to three hundred thousand lives.Ivic, who also lost his right eye and 50 percent of his vision in his left got two prosthesis legs after the accident, but outgrew them five years ago. And now through the generosity of Hanger Prosthesis and the organization Save Serbian Children the prognosis for Ivic is good.Stockert said, "He's fortunate he's strong, he has an awesome attitude and what we hope to see is he goes back and he's the teacher he's the ambassador he's the one that shows not just what we do but what people can do with good hearts as well as minds."Daniel just got his customized limbs Saturday and tomorrow he's back on a plane headed to Serbia to start a new life.
Copyright © 2007, KTXL

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