When Dr. Lec Gradica motivated the soldiers: Your wounds are the foundation of freedom

Tomorrow takes place 20 years from the fall on the altar of freedom of the first white robes of the Kosovo Liberation Army, Dr. Lec Gradica.

His friends, patients, and citizens show that Dr. Lez was inherited from his family, and his love of man was inborn, and no profession would improve his dreams and desires, rather than his doctor's work.

I bring you the report of the doctor born in the mountainous village of Drenica, Gradica, who after completing his studies began working at the Home of Health in Drenas, serving the citizens of this three people with a doctor's love and saint until the last minutes of his life.

With the start of the Kosovo Liberation Army war in the first months of 1998, Dr. Leci could not deal with wounded fighters at the House of Health, because the Drenas and Drenica area was filled with enemy police and military forces. And together with his wife, he and his wife began working at their family's oda in Gradica, where the foundation of the military hospital in the area was laid.

His wife and associate, Emine Leci, recalls the first days of their work at the oda-spital in the spring of 1998. But there was little space to handle all cases, and the military hospital was placed in the village school, which was not far from Letz's home.

In the spring of 1998, there were two rooms, one was for interventions, the other for visits. News was soon spread that Leci is working at his home, or ode, began the arrival of patients from all villages around Cicvica. Day-to-day, the number of patients increased, to the inability to continue working there, Leci ordered to continue working at the Gradica school”, Eminnja says.

The fresh memories of the first days of Letz's work at his family ode are shared by his brother, Ajet.

“In the spring of 1998, for the first time, the cornerstone of the 114 Brigade Military Hospital in this age, where Dr. Leci and his family were committed to assisting both KLA soldiers and the general population. There have been patients, but because of insufficient space, Dr. Leci has decided to expand to the school in Gradica, the school that, in collaboration with fellow villagers, turns it into a KLA military hospital”, he says.

But for the complicated interventions required special equipment, Dr. Leci sought help from his colleagues in Pristina. One of the first patients was former fighter, Mehmet Xheli, who commanded the <x0 points. 11x1> Shbaha in Chikatove of Drenas.

I've been working some combat tools, weapons, concrete cases is, there was a scrap metal in the eye. I contacted Dr. Lecin, it was a very serious case, a metal pole in the light of the eye, and brought people from Pristina, special to me and we came here and we performed that operation. The second case is, a soldier of mine is injured, he's broken his toe, we're here, home as improvised military hospital”, he said.

In the process of fighting in the Drenica area, the number of wounded fighters and the social population seeking recovery in Dr. Lacey. After the transfer of the military hospital to village school, the number of patients increased every day. Mrs. Emine says that there were days when the number of patients exceeded 100.

The number of patients has been huge, brought 100 patients a day and more, because we've been in 24 hours alert, in service of soldiers, in the population, whoever asked for help, we've been in service”, she says.

The doctor had not enough to perform health checks for patients and surgery for the injured, he and Emine had also opened the maternity ward and went to the Licoci military hospital when needed. All of this reminds Dr. Fadil Beka, who also opened the military hospital in Lockoc.

Dr. Lecin, now a witness to the nation, I had the fortune to meet him here at Licoci Hospital, but the most important time I've met, we've worked together at the Gradica hospital, when we were evacuated from the Licoci military hospital, where we are now. I saw Dr. Lecin, who was very busy treating the sick, the wounded, and especially with his wife Emina, organized a maternity ward where hundreds of births were performed, because for this category of the population, access to state hospitals has been very difficult, if not impossible”, says Dr. Becca.

Dr. Leci's wife shows that patients have come from around the Drenica region, while remembering that her most sensitive cases have been from State and Rezalla.

We've also had many of the promotions from different regions, not only from the Drenas Community District, but from all Army regions. We had Skenderaj. I remember the most sensitive cases were from Stutica, from Rezalla, who came with wounds on her back, it took Les to intervene and sew those wounds”, she recalls.

For Dr. Fadil Beka all the cases under war conditions are special.

Under the conditions of war, all cases are special cases, specific cases, so I probably couldn't recognize them, but there have been extraordinary conditions, because there have been severe conditions, and we've had to do with those conditions to offer maximum aid, with the service of the sick, the wounded, who have been in need of”, Bekka relates.

In September 1998, the enemy took offensives in the villages at the base of Cicvica and continued working at the school hospital was impossible, Leci pulled the wounded into the mountainous areas, not leaving patients for a moment, even though they were surrounded by a large number of enemy forces. The heavy hours of the war and last encounters with the doctor remind Elija and Ajjeti.

He never refused to leave the patients, the population, said he would stay here, with my people, with the soldiers, with the wounded. He saw enemy forces coming. He was very conscious. The last moment was September 24th, but among the patients, among the population, there was a large new number of wounded, was Leci's brother”, she says.

On September offensive, Dr. Leci together with his soldiers, the wounded were taken from the Gradica hospital to a slightly safer location, as was then Cicvica. Dr. Leci was always close to the wounded in Cicvica, which is witnessed by his fall on September 24, 1998. He did his best to help the wounded, soldiers, and population in general. His last moment was in Chechavica, always coming to the aid of the injured”, recalls those moments of Ajjeti.

Now, after 20 years, they look back with fondness and say Dr. Leci was not a doctor who merely treated the wounds of the injured but was noted for human proximity to patients, who many times healed them with words.

“Dr. Leci has been a doctor who has healed patients, a general physician, a physician for people who have contacted him is unforgettable, and the work of the tin is never forgotten”, says Xheli.

“Leci has always given great will to the soldiers, in words, with high morals and told them that you will soon be healed, you will return with friends in instinct, your wounds are the foundations of freedom”, are the memories Mrs. Emine tells of her husband, the fellow warrior and associate doctor Lec Gradica.

Meanwhile, now the body of witness Lec Gradica, known as the War Doctor, rests peacefully at the Soviet Navy Memorial of Witnesses.