Posted on 01/02/2006 6:08:21 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach
ATLANTA (AP) -
An Iraqi infant with severe birth defects arrived in Atlanta Saturday for medical treatment that was offered after U.S. soldiers discovered her during a raid on a home.
Baby Noor al-Zahra, or "Baby Nora" to the Americans, was responsive Saturday evening and in good condition, said Kevin McClelland, spokesman for Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. He said it likely will be another week before she goes into surgery.
The three-month-old child left Baghdad in a military transport plane Friday, accompanied by her grandmother and father. An airport worker in Atlanta translated the grandmother's brief comments after they arrived at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
"She said they're happy to be here," the worker said
U.S. troops discovered the baby three weeks ago during a raid of a house in Abu Ghraib, a poverty-stricken district west of Baghdad. The soldiers noticed paralysis in the baby's legs and what appeared to be a tumor on her back.
They later learned the 3-month-old child had spina bifida, a birth defect in which the backbone and spinal cord do not close before birth. The "tumor" on the baby's back was actually a fluid-filled sac containing part of the spinal cord and membranes that are supposed to cover the spinal cord.
U.S. doctors were sent e-mail photos of the baby and received some medical information, but they still needed to do a full evaluation before attempting surgery, said Dr. Roger Hudgins, a pediatric neurosurgeon who agreed to take the case.
"I think the chances of her survival are good," Hudgins said Saturday. Without more medical care, "she would have died."
Baby Noor's health care is to be provided for free, he said. The surgery and accompanying care would cost about $200,000 if it were billed.
Hudgins also praised the soldiers for their role in getting Baby Noor to the United States. Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., helped arrange the trip. "This is certainly an exciting day for everyone," said his spokesman Greg Wright.
Baby Noor will probably need one or two months in the United States to complete the medical repairs and recovery before returning to Iraq. Her grandmother and father are to stay with a host family arranged by Childspring International, a faith-based children's medical charity.
The organization also will arrange follow-up medical care for the infant in Iraq, said Rose Emily Bermudez, the group's executive director.
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What a sweet baby! This is an example of America extending a helping hand to the world. Kudos to everyone involved incl. our brave soldiers.
"FYI" ping.
I join in your prayer for this child!
and how about another big slap to the face of the lying demorats and liberals that the only kids that are enlisting are poor,inner city minorities who have no future,no job opportunities; this wonderful young man appears to have been a honor student,moral GOD loving, all american; and I hope the military offers him a spot in their medical school when he completes his undergraduate studies
Heavenly Father, thanks so much for bringing the needs of this precious baby to the attention of those who can help her. Bless our troops for caring so much, and for getting her help. We ask in Jesus' Name that Baby Noor will come through the surgery successfully and grow to be a beautiful woman who serves You. Guide the doctors and those who care for her, and I pray that the surgery will not cause paralysis or any loss of the use of her legs. Be with her father and grandmother as they are in this country, a strange place for them; I pray they will be treated well. And especially be with those family members (her mother, perhaps?) left behind at home who find it difficult to be separated from her for so long. I ask all these things in Jesus' precious Name, Amen.
http://www.pressconnects.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051231/NEWS01/512310318/1001
(sorry, you'll have to copy and paste URL)
"I feel that God has put me specifically in this place, attached to this unit, so that I could specifically help this little baby," Donnelly said by e-mail Friday from Iraq.
Carolyn
Prayers for this little baby.
Let's not EVER forget the immortal words of John Kerry..
"there is no reason, Bob, that young American soldiers need to be going into the homes of Iraqis in the dead of night, terrorizing kids and children"
Kerry is evil and disgusting.
sw
Thanks for making the links easier.
FReegards,
two
"I wonder about some American kid with the same affliction."
Since there's no political gain helping out average American taxpayers, the American kid with the same affliction will probably have to lump it.
I wish my child with a genetic defect could get free healthcare.
Troops ping
Thanks for posting that!
God Bless our Troops!
Ms.B
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