BOSNIA: WOMAN AMPUTEE'S LONG WAIT FOR NEW SET OF FALSE LEGS

Serbo-Croat/Nat A Bosnian woman is still waiting for a pair of new legs, more than four years after becoming one of Sarajevo's first war casualties. Doctors in Sarajevo say they can do nothing for the mother of three because they do not have the resources to build the specialist false legs she needs. 42-year-old Katica Sadija has had to learn to carry out her household tasks balanced on the stumps of what were once her legs. More than four years after becoming one of Sarajevo's first war casualties she is still waiting for new legs. Katica, a mother of three, says she was the first civilian to lose a limb during the siege of the Bosnian capital. On May 15th, 1992 a mortar grenade fell in her back yard and shrapnel ripped into her body. She was unconscious for three days before waking up and learning her legs had been amputated above the knee. SOUNDBITE: (Serbo-Croat) The doctor said - Katica, are you aware you have suffered a tragedy - I said: I'm not. Then he told me I'd lost both of my legs. When he told me that I just kept thinking about my children. SUPER CAPTION: Katica Sadija, amputee Katica goes to physiotherapy every day to keep what muscles she has strong. Like other amputees she thought she would be able to receive false legs. But the seriousness of her injury means the Sarajevo centre cannot provide her with a suitable prosthesis. SOUNDBITE: (Serbo-Croat) Until we get the material we need to fix her prosthesis there is nothing we can do. SUPER CAPTION: Dr Izo Hasic, prosthetic specialist For now she has to bear the indignity of being carried back and forth from the clinic by her oldest son. Katica says her injury was a huge trauma for her family. SOUNDBITE: (Serbo-Croat) I asked my husband to bring my kids to see me (she begins crying) - when they came I could see it was very hard for them to take it. Remember, it was the beginning of the war. This hadn't happened to anyone else...it was very difficult for them. SUPER CAPTION: Katica Sadija, amputee Katica has been told she needs around 28-hundred (US) dollars to buy specialist material to construct a pair of new legs. SOUNDBITE: When they told me that (about the money) I almost fainted. But my husband said, please don't let yourself go. Stay strong. It must be your destiny. SUPER CAPTION: Katica Sadija, amputee For a poor Bosnian family, 28-hundred dollars is an almost unimaginable sum. But Katica refuses to accept the possibility that she may have to continue walking on the stumps of her legs for the rest of her life. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/0a5dbe084dffa10d0862886838c676eb Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork