Baby Noor

[MrsSpringsteen]

There are no guarantees that she can be cured but I hope so. The surgery is being performed in Atlanta, free of charge.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/12/30/baby.noor/index.html


BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- A mercy airlift from Iraq to the United States got under way Friday, as the U.S. military helped an Iraqi infant named Noor receive treatment for a potentially fatal birth defect.

The three-month-old Noor -- nicknamed Baby Noor by the media and whose last name has not been released to protect against insurgents -- is suffering from spina bifida. The birth defect results in the spinal column failing to completely close. Iraqi doctors had told her parents she would live only 45 days without treatment.

Accompanied by her father and grandmother, Noor is flying to Kuwait and then to Atlanta, Georgia. "She is doing well considering her illness," reported CNN's Joe Duran.

The child captured the hearts of members of the the Georgia National Guard after they raided her Baghdad home during a routine "knock-and-search" three weeks ago.

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

The Associated Press
Updated: 12:09 p.m. ET Jan. 2, 2006

ATLANTA - An Iraqi infant brought to the United States for treatment of severe birth defects is “interactive and playful,” with good mental function, but will likely wind up using a wheelchair, her doctor said Monday.

Dr. Roger Hudgins, a pediatric neurosurgeon who agreed to take the case, said in interviews on morning news shows that 3-month-old Baby Noor al-Zahra will probably have paralysis or weakness in her legs after surgery.

“It looks at this point as if she’s probably not going to be able to walk,” he told CBS’ “The Early Show.” “There’s just not that much function in the lower extremities.”

The child left Baghdad in a military transport plane Friday, accompanied by her grandmother and father, and arrived in Atlanta on Saturday.

U.S. doctors were sent e-mail photos of the baby and received some medical information, but they still need to do a full evaluation before attempting surgery, Hudgins said.

“Baby Noor has a personality of a six-month-old,” he told ABC’s “Good Morning America.” “She’s interactive and playful. It’s been a delight. We have very high hopes for her.”

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.

Severe birth defects
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 growth on the baby’s back was actually a fluid-filled sac containing part of the spinal cord.

“Quality of life is very important, but if we don’t get rid of this defect, it will eventually take her life as well,” Hudgins said. There is fluid buildup inside her brain and she has trouble emptying her bladder, he said.

Doctors usually operate on spina bifida victims immediately after birth, making this operation unusual, Hudgins said. But the baby’s situation was stable, giving doctors enough time to do appropriate studies.

Baby Noor will probably need one or two months in the United States to complete the medical repairs and recovery before returning to Iraq, officials had said earlier.

 

[Abomb-baby]

Thanks for posting.

 

[OceanGirl]

Poor beautiful baby girl. It isn't fair, is it?

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- Doctors on Friday released Baby Noor, the 3-month-old Iraqi girl brought to the United States for life-saving medical treatment after being discovered by U.S. soldiers in Baghdad.

"Her prognosis is excellent as far as her ability to develop normally and cognitively," Dr. Roger Hudgins, the pediatric neurosurgeon at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, told CNN's "Live From."

Hudgins performed the surgery Monday to realign and enclose her spinal column.

She suffered from spina bifida, a birth defect in which the spinal vertebrae do not form completely around the spinal cord.

Noor will most likely not regain the use of her legs and will have to use a wheelchair, Hudgins said.

Doctors are keeping a close eye on fluid build-up in her brain, which so far has not increased. If it does become progressive and develop into hydrocephalus, Hudgins said, a second surgery may be necessary to drain the fluid.

She is scheduled to return to the hospital for a brain scan next week.

 

[BonosSaint]

Sounds good so far.

 

[MissVelvetDress_75]

The church that helped bring her over here and get the surgery for her donated $25,000 to the family today.

Here is a link to the church:

http://www.sothumc.net/Lifeover/index.cfm?pageType=Home

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

how wonderful of them to do that, thanks for the link MVD

 

[verte76]

She's a darling baby. I hope she does OK later on in life.