4/8/2004 12:00:00 AM
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Ma''rwa Ahteemi is flanked by Maj. Sharnell Hoffer (left) and Maj. Mary Adams-Challenger. The two majors are among many in the Army and in private U.S. organizations helping Ma''rwa to recover from injuries sustained when artillery hit her home in Iraq. (Photo by Marcie Roth, National Spinal Cord Injury Association, used with permission) |
Darnall Army Community Hospital, Fort Hood, Texas - Ma''rwa Ahteemi, an injured Iraqi child, would not be getting the help she needs today had it not been for an Army physical therapist who took a special interest in her.
Maj. Mary Adams-Challenger of Darnall Army Community Hospital met Ma''rwa, a 13-year-old girl, in November 2003 when Adams-Challenger was assigned to the 21st Combat Support Hospital in Balad, Iraq.
Ma''rwa suffered life-threatening injuries when artillery rounds fired by U. S. forces hit her home, killing five family members and injuring several others, Adams-Challenger said. Because Ma''rwa''s injuries were from friendly fire, she could be treated at the 21st Combat Support Hospital.
"As a result of Ma''rwa''s spinal cord injury, she could not move her legs and had lost feeling from her waist down. To complicate matters she was malnourished and she developed life-threatening pressure sores and a fractured thigh," said Adams-Challenger. Surgeons from the 21st CSH operated, and immediately after surgery Adams-Challenger began physical therapy for Ma''rwa.
"We soon realized she would need care well beyond what we were set up to do in a ''tent'' hospital. Her country was not able to provide such services so we started exploring our options," explained Adams-Challenger.
With the help of Maj. Sharnell Hoffer, a Wisconsin National Guard pediatrician, and Sgt. First Class John Mileham, an Iowa National Guard social worker—both assigned to the 21st CSH—the child''s medical condition was brought to the attention of several organizations.
"Through the power of e-mail, we received a custom-made wheelchair from the Christian Medical and Dental Association, a non-profit organization based in San Antonio," said Adams-Challenger. Once Ma''rwa had her chair she "turned the corner," she added.
Ma''rwa''s care started in Iraq through telerehabilitation, a program that allowed Adams-Challenger to speak via Internet and satellite with care providers located at the National Center for Children''s Rehabilitation. Adams-Challenger arranged to have Ma''rwa continue with follow-on care at the NCCR.
"The organization gave me insight into the severity of the child''s condition and about medical care that she would need in the future," said Adams-Challenger. She said they also worked with the Iraqi minister of health, the International Organization for Migration and the National Spinal Cord Injury Association.
"With the support of Iowa''s Senator Tom Harkin, the Department of Defense, the
Coalition Provisional Authority, the Iraqi Ministry of Health, [and] the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services and Homeland Security, Ma''rwa and her uncle were flown by military aircraft to Andrews Air Force Base, Md., on Feb. 28 to receive the care needed to treat her injuries," said Adams-Challenger.
After returning to the United States, Adams-Challenger kept in contact with Ma''rwa. She and Hoffer took leave to travel to Andrews Air Force Base to greet Ma''rwa when she arrived in the United States.
While arrangements were being made for Ma''rwa to receive treatment in the United States, American medical personnel watched over her brothers and sisters. All the children are now at home waiting for Ma''rwa''s return.
"Their home has been repaired and they have received financial assistance to include a car to make life a little easier for this unfortunate family," Adams-Challenger said.
Adams-Challenger stays in touch with Ma''rwa and tracks her rehabilitation through e-mails and phone calls. She plans to visit Ma''rwa before the girl returns to Iraq.
"The last time I saw Ma''rwa she was enthusiastic, motivated, determined. She seems to be taking it all in and enjoying it. She knows she has to work hard while she is here because she will be expected to assist the family with household chores (sewing, washing, cooking, caring for her younger siblings) and tending to the cows and the crops when she returns," said Adams-Challenger.
"Ma''rwa''s treatment is being funded by private donations to the National Rehabilitation Center and the National Center for Children''s Rehabilitation in D.C.," Adams-Challenger added. Ma''rwa is expected to stay in the United States for about 90 days.
To get Ma''rwa to the United States "took a cast of hundreds. Through a series of e-mails, a little luck and the grace of God, we were able to provide Ma''rwa with the chance to learn to live with her disability, to have a full and productive life," Adams-Challenger said.