As of today, Ermin Omerovic, a 19-year-old from the central town of Jajce dreams again. He will be able to play football, to continue education... After a horrible accident last year, which shattered his right arm, Ermin got a brain-controlled prosthetic hand, which restored his faith in a better future.
“I am taking it off when I go to sleep, of course. It has a battery, which is recharged over the night. I prepare myself breakfast every morning without any problems. I can do everything by myself,” he said.
Omerovic underwent surgery at the Sarajevo University Clinical Centre, where doctors attached a prosthetic hand to his arm, which he can control with his brain. It is called a bionic hand.
This modern age operation was performed for the first time not only in Bosnia but in the entire region.
“Ermin has the possibility to make 14 moves using this system. There is a small engine in every finger that Ermin uses, which enables precise moves. Ermin can make synchronised moves with his both hands and can feel this prosthetic tool as a part of his body,” explained Zeljka Micic-Susac, a representative of ‘Ottobock’ company, which partly funded the surgery.
The prosthetic hand cost some 110,000 Bosnian marks (approx. 55,000 Euros) and was designed specifically for Ermin. The funds to support the surgery were collected through humanitarian organisation ‘Pomozi.ba’ but one part of the necessary money was collected by the Omerovic family.
‘Ottobock’ company provided a part of the amount and named Ermin their ambassador. The funds he collects through this role will be used for his education, which he had to terminate after the accident.
In order to perform such surgeries more often, the country needs to pass legislation to speed up the procedures towards procurement of prosthetic tools, which now lasts up to one year, explained Clinical Centre General Manager, Sebija Izetbegovic.
Nearly 300,000 patients in Bosnia cope with various types of disability. Healthcare organisations say this number encompasses 15 percent of the population at the global level.
Only a few got a chance to get their lives back to normal as Ermin did.
