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May
7, 2003 |
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ANN ARBOR, MI - An Iraqi teenager who was severely burned during the first days of Operation Iraqi Freedom has arrived at the University of Michigan Health System's Trauma Burn Center to receive specialized treatment for her injuries. She is believed to be the first Iraqi child injured during the war to receive care at a U.S. hospital.
Her journey was made possible by a massive cooperative effort that was launched when a Michigan man saw her story on a television news program, and decided to try to help her. His own father's life was saved by U-M burn doctors decades ago. The 15-year-old girl, Hannan Shihab, and her mother, Yusra, left their home city of Baghdad Sunday, May 4, and arrived in Michigan on Tuesday, May 6. They were immediately brought to the U-M's noted burn treatment center to begin evaluation and treatment. Hannan has severe burns on her face, chest and upper arms that will be treated by U-M burn care specialists. "While we are still determining the best course of care, we believe we will be able to help Hannan with the physical and psychological effects these burns have caused,"says Paul Taheri, M.D., MBA, chief of U-M's Trauma Burn Critical Care division. "Her treatment may take weeks, and could involve surgery to reduce permanent scarring."
Hannan was burned when explosions near her home during one of the first nights of the war caused a lantern to fall off a shelf and ignite her clothing. But wartime conditions kept her from getting any burn care for days after the incident, until her parents approached two United States Marines who provided first aid and bandaged Hannan's wounds. Still, the war and looting limited the care she could receive in Baghdad hospitals. Her ordeal, and the lack of available medical care for her, came to the world's attention through the efforts of a Baghdad-based television crew from the British ITV network. After their story aired in the United States, one American TV viewer, Michigan resident James Thornberry, decided to try to help her.
Taheri immediately contacted Hannan's doctor in Iraq to determine if further medical treatment could improve her condition. "All of the information communicated by the physician in Iraq and his description of the clinical scenario indicated that she is going to require a higher level of care than can currently be provided there. I agreed to accept the patient," he notes. He continues, "The reason we are doing this is that at the most fundamental level, it is the right thing to do. I want to make clear that this is a doctor-to-doctor consultation about a patient. In this case it is simply a consult that happens to be from Iraq. We get calls from all over the state and the region - and this one is just from farther away."
After the physicians agreed that Hannan could be helped by American burn care, a cooperative effort coordinated by the Trauma Burn team made her travel arrangements happen. Thornberry had contacted his U.S. Representative, Mike Rogers, who was able to take the lead with the military communications, immigration, and transportation logistics. Rogers, who has just returned from a Congressional fact-finding mission to Iraq, met with Hannan and her mother in Baghdad. "Hannan's story made us all want to reach out and help her," Rogers said. "We have been blessed by how the U-M Trauma Burn Center, ITN news crew, Northwest Airlines, the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration, and the military have all pulled together to make this possible. It was very complicated to bring two Iraqi citizens who did not have passports to America. It took a tremendous amount of coordination and hours of work to bring Hannan to the treatment Dr. Taheri and the Burn Center can provide. Thankfully, when Mr. Thornberry sought us out, no one said 'it can't be done;' everyone rolled up their sleeves and went to work to get it done. That spirit is what makes America so great." U.S. Representative John Dingell and Senator Debbie Stabenaw also offered their support should further help be required. The team effort continued when Northwest Airlines donated airline tickets to fly Hannan and her mother from Frankfurt, Germany, where they had arrived via U.S. military airlift on May 5. After arrival at Detroit Metro Airport, Hannan and her mother were met by representatives of the U-M Trauma Burn Center , and a translator from the UMHS Interpreter Services Program, who were all transported to University Hospital by U-M Survival Flight. They traveled with the ITV team that had been reporting on Hannan's case for several weeks. In the end, says Taheri, "What began as a journalist's report from Iraq has ended in hope. A father from Michigan connected to another family across the world with parental compassion that transcended borders. Undaunted by what seemed the impossible, Jim Thornberry kicked off the effort that made it happen." Members of the public who want to send good wishes or donations to help Hannan and her family, or to support the U-M Trauma Burn Center, should address them to U-M Trauma Burn Center, 1500 E. Medical Center Drive, University Hospital Room 1C340, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-0033.
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Special
notes on this release
