A couple of coincidences brought Mustafa Can Koşay and Emsada Cago together years after they first met in the final year of the Bosnian War. Cago was a 2-year-old girl in need of surgery and Koşay was a young ensign with a Turkish unit deployed in the Balkan country. A doctor in civilian life, Koşay performed surgery on Cago to correct her feet, ultimately changing her life.

When he returned to Bosnia-Herzegovina recently for an occupational meeting, Koşay found an opportunity to meet with Cago, who recently contacted him after finding his contact information years later. The doctor and his former patient reunited in Zenica, some 70 kilometers (43 miles) away from Sarajevo, where the latter now lives.

Koşay served one year with a Turkish peacekeeping unit deployed in Bosnia-Herzegovina as a medical officer, serving both Turkish troops and locals. He would also pay visits to nearby villages to carry out routine medical checks on locals. It was during these visits he met Emsada, then a toddler. "She had deformities in her feet and was not properly treated before. I took her to a local hospital here and performed surgery,” he told Anadolu Agency (AA). Years later, Emsada reached out to the doctor through social media and they started corresponding, promising to meet again. "She was very excited when we met again. Now, she is a mother with two children. As a doctor, I always love to meet my recovered patients again but seeing a patient after such a long time was an altogether different and pleasant experience,” he said. During their meeting, Cago gave the doctor a photo album comprised of pictures taken together before and after the surgery.

"We had limited health care because of war and little means back then for my treatment. Someone advised my family to see the doctors at the Turkish garrison. We met Dr. Can and Ayşe (a retired colonel who served as lieutenant at the Turkish unit in 1995) and other good people there. Dr. Can gave us support. He and other soldiers became our friends, our new family, at a time when we had few friends,” she recounted.

Despite her young age, Cago had undergone a string of surgeries but none were successful. After Koşay operated on her, she regained her ability to properly walk. "What I felt after my recovery cannot be described. It was very emotional. I still remember the toys Dr. Can and other soldiers gave me,” she says.

When Koşay returned to Turkey after completing his military service, they lost contact. For her part, Cago and her family had to relocate after their home was damaged in the war. When her sister's husband, a Turkish national, found out about the surgery, he wanted to help find her doctor. They first reached out to the colonel who gave them Koşay’s phone number and finally, they managed to arrange a meeting in Zenica.

"It was an emotional moment. I was so happy. This is something you cannot buy,” she said. "I always tell my children to be good towards others because no matter how many years pass, time does not erase the good deeds you did,” she says.