LOS ALAMITOS : Heartache Lingers for War Victim

Excellent medical care in the United States has helped heal his wounds, says Bosnian Suad Krso, but has not eased the pain in his heart.

“I miss my family so much,” Krso, 40, said from his hospital bed Thursday at Los Alamitos Medical Center. “I don’t know if they are alive or not.”

His wife and two teen-age children were left behind in a war-ravaged Sarajevo neighborhood when the badly wounded Krso was flown to the United States in July for treatment. A grenade blast cost him both legs and caused other severe injuries. He said he has had no contact with his family since he left.

“It’s a sickening feeling,” Krso said through an interpreter.

But Krso said he’s doing fine after 34 days at the hospital. He said he looks forward to going home, although he would much prefer to remain in the United States and have his family join him.

That is not possible, said Sonja Hegel, an administrator of a Southern California hospital whose efforts brought Krso and 18 other Bosnian patients to the United States for treatment.

“After treatment, everyone goes back home,” Hegel said. “That’s how the program is.”

Hegel said the United Nations High Commission for Refugees coordinated the efforts to fly patients out of Bosnia with the help of several private and public agencies, including the U.S. government.

Once the patients were in the United States, they were sent to hospitals that offered free treatment, Hegel said. Ten of the 19 Bosnian patients who arrived in July went to California hospitals, including two to Orange County, she said.

In about two to three months, the patients will start returning to Bosnia, Hegel said.

Krso, a plumber, suffered serious wounds to his legs and throat when a grenade exploded less than 10 feet from where he and two co-workers were fixing a water line in a Sarajevo street in January. His fellow workers were killed. Krso was in a coma for 28 days.

Bosnian doctors amputated both of Krso’s legs. His left hand was partially paralyzed and he lost his voice when shrapnel tore into his throat.

Krso has undergone two operations since arriving at Los Alamitos Medical Center, including reconstructive surgery on his trachea that has allowed him to speak again.

Dr. Maher Sesi said that it would take “a few more weeks” before Krso fully recovers from the surgery on his throat, but he said it was good to see him happy and talking to friends.

An orthopedist at the medical center, Dr. Nick Bonfilio, performed surgery on Krso’s legs so he can be fitted with artificial legs and walk again. A local prosthetic company has offered to donate the artificial legs.

Although he may be able to walk, Krso said that he is concerned he may not be able to work again. In addition, he said there is not much left of his neighborhood, which has been devastatedby almost daily shelling from Serbian forces.

“I’d rather stay here if I have a choice,” Krso said. “But I can’t leave my family in Bosnia.”

Among Krso’s regular hospital visitors is Emir Cisic, a Bosnian who lives in Cypress.

Like Krso, Cisic is a Bosnian Muslim. He said he has not heard from relatives in Bosnia for more than a year.

“It’s been a nightmare,” Cisic said.