Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, April 2, 1995 TAG: 9504030084
SECTION: NATL/ITNL PAGE: A-10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: LONDON LENGTH: Medium
Irma Hadzimuratovic was 7. Doctors said she died peacefully in her sleep at Great Ormond Street hospital after developing a blood infection.
Irma, then 5, was wounded July 30, 1993, in Sarajevo by shrapnel from Serb shelling that pierced her spine and abdomen. The shelling killed her mother and left Irma paralyzed from the neck down.
She was brought to Britain on Aug. 9, 1993, after her doctor in Sarajevo, frustrated by what he called excessive U.N. red tape, turned to the media, which flashed pictures of the suffering child around the globe.
Her plight stirred international sympathy, and Western governments launched ``Operation Irma,'' airlifting out hundreds of Bosnia's war wounded for treatment.
Irma battled successfully against bacterial meningitis, brought on by her severe wounds, but remained on a ventilator to help her breathing.
She recently suffered complications which prevented her from eating and had to be fed intravenously.
Irma, who was accompanied to London by her father, Ramiz, and younger sister, Medina, learned English at the hospital school and made several visits to the countryside in a specially adapted wheelchair.
``Irma was a warm and affectionate child who won the hearts of everyone,'' said Dr. Quen Mok, who treated her. ``Her courage in dealing with her injuries was an inspiration to us all.''
by CNB