2-Year-Old Iraqi Girl Arrives in U.S. For Treatment of Rare Deformity
NEW YORK _ A shy 2-year-old Iraqi girl woke up in the Queens home of an American soldier Monday, bewildered by her first day in America and anxious about the next.
Noor Sabah and her mother Eman stepped off a plane in New York this weekend and were greeted by the U.S. Army captain who worked for two years to bring them here for treatment of her rare facial deformity.
Exhausted from the long flight, mother and daughter fell asleep almost as soon as they arrived at the home of Jesse Damsky, 26, the former officer who befriended the girl’s father while serving with the 10th Mountain Division in Baghdad.
Damsky, who is now an officer in the reserves, was determined to help the daughter of his Iraqi friend. The girl was born with a facial deformity that could wear away her jaw if untreated.
“All the doctors fled. Now they say the nearest dentist in Baghdad _ is in Damascus,” said Damsky.
The toddler is due for evaluation at Mount Sinai Medical Center on Tuesday.
“They haven’t ventured too far out of the house. I’m sure Manhattan will be exciting,” Damsky said Monday of his family’s new houseguests.
After hearing of Noor’s plight, Damsky, a Sunni Muslim who speaks Arabic, collected money in his platoon for Noor’s medical bills.
Damsky kept in touch with Noor’s father _ a Shiite Muslim _ after returning home in July 2005, and got the Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund to cover surgery and travel costs. In exchange, Damsky and his wife, Tere, who have two young sons, agreed to host Noor and Eman in New York City.
Mount Sinai surgeon Dr. Peter Taub believes the little girl has a craniofacial microsomia, a deformity involving the ear, jaw bone and teeth which would require multiple surgeries.
Taub’s biggest concern is that Noor’s visa expires in May. “We’re trying to get as much stuff done in a short amount of time,” he said.
Also Tuesday, an Iraqi boy, 11-year-old Ali Abdulameer, will have his life-threatening heart defect evaluated at Schneider Children’s Hospital in New Hyde Park, N.Y., and is likely to undergo surgery Wednesday.
Ali and his father, Abu Ali, who arrived Friday, received visas after months of work by Army Reserve Capt. Brian Freeman, who was killed by insurgents reportedly one day after the visas’ issue.
Freeman’s widow, Charlotte, will fly to New York this weekend from her California home to meet them in person.
The fathers of both children asked to remain anonymous for fear of being killed back in Iraq.
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