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Iowa troops, Harkin help injured Iraqi girl


WASHINGTON — A 12-year-old Iraqi girl, who was paralyzed in a misguided U.S. mortar attack, arrived in America for treatment Saturday, thanks to the efforts of Iowa National Guard members and Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa.

Maj. Sharnell Hoffer, 31, was at Andrews Air Force Base to greet Ma’rwa Ahteemi when she arrived. Hoffer is a pediatrician who cared for Ma’rwa while serving with Iowa’s 109th Medical Battalion.

Sgt. 1st Class John Mileham, who is still serving with the 109th in northern Iraq, also had a hand in Ma’rwa’s good fortune.

Last November, Ma’rwa ran out of her house during an accidental U.S. mortar attack, said Marcie Roth, CEO of the National Spinal Cord Injury Association. Flying shrapnel entered Ma’rwa’s spinal cord and paralyzed her below the waist, Roth said. Five members of her family were killed, including three of her younger brothers. Twelve other relatives, including three more siblings, were injured.

Ma’rwa and the other injured children were initially hospitalized at the local hospital in Balad, Iraq, but it was unable to meet their needs.

“They didn’t have any pediatric equipment,” Roth said.

The children were transferred to a nearby U.S. Combat Hospital, which also was not equipped to deal with children but had more resources and access to a pediatrician — namely Hoffer, a doctor from Duluth, Minn., assigned to the Iowa Guard unit in Iraq for 90 days.

In addition to a damaged spinal cord, Ma’rwa’s leg had been broken, she had a large, infected, open sore on her buttocks from lying immobile on a hospital bed and she was malnourished.

“I thought her injuries were life-threatening,” Hoffer said.

With the permission of Lt. Col. Steve Wieneke and Cmdr. Douglas Olney, Hoffer drove a few miles each evening — after caring for U.S. soldiers during the day — to dress Ma’rwa’s wounds and care for her siblings.

Soldiers in the 109th also visited the children at the hospital, playing games, coloring and tossing the football with them.

“That’s the kind of soldiers that the 109th are,” Hoffer said.

Hoffer enlisted the help of one soldier in particular to get Ma’rwa evacuated to the U.S. The doctor told Sgt. 1st Class John Mileham, a social worker from Iowa, that Ma’rwa needed specialized treatment not available in Iraq. Mileham e-mailed the National Spinal Cord Association three days before Christmas.

“I don’t have a clue what one would do to help,” director Roth recalled telling Mileham, but said she promised, “You can be sure I will do everything I can to help.” Roth got Harkin’s attention and the senator contacted Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. After considerable bureaucratic red tape, Ma’rwa’s evacuation was approved and she arrived with her uncle at Andrews Air Force base Saturday night.

“Because of this opportunity, she will now be able to receive the proper, specialized treatment she needs,” Harkin said.

Ma’rwa was transported to the National Center for Children’s Rehabilitation, a brand new facility in Washington specializing in spinal cord and brain injuries. The Center is treating Ma’rwa free of charge, thanks to the generosity of medical professionals who have agreed to donate their time, said spokesman James Rogers. He estimated Ma’rwa would be treated at the Center for six weeks then as an outpatient for an additional 90 days. After that, the girl and her uncle are expected to return to Iraq.

Meanwhile, Hoffer completed her rotation overseas and has returned to the U.S. Mileham and the rest of the 109th Medical Battalion are expected home in early April, according to the Iowa City headquarters.

By MARGARET K. COLLINS, Courier/Medill News Service
Copyright © 2004 Waterloo/Cedar Falls Courier

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