AJC.com > Iraq coverage > Blog > Archives > 2006 > June > 19 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USSpecial day for Baby Noor hero
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It was a very special Father’s Day for 1st Lt. Jeff Morgan of Douglasville.
The Georgia Army National Guard soldier, back from Iraq just last month, spent the day with his children attending church and opening gifts of clothing — his children said their father had lost too much weight in Iraq and none of his shorts or shirts fit him anymore.
Later in the day, Morgan, 40, was able to see another child who is very dear to his heart: Noor al-Zahra, the Iraqi baby who he helped shuttle out of the slums of Abu Ghraib for critically needed medical care in Atlanta.
“She’s beautiful,” said Morgan of Noor, now almost 9 months old and teething. “It was awesome to see her. I feel very blessed. This is a great Father’s Day gift.”
Last December, Morgan was alerted to the plight of Noor, born with a severe form of spina bifida, a birth defect in which the spine does not fully form. Iraqi doctors had told Noor’s family that she would not survive long.
Morgan, a single father of five, took it upon himself to get Noor the medical treatment she needed. She arrived in Atlanta on New Year’s Day and underwent surgery at Children’s Healthcare to remove a tumor-like growth on her back.
On Sunday, Noor smiled and gurgled as Morgan held her in his arms. He was the first of the soldiers of Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 121st Infantry Regiment to see the child after she left Iraq. The Gainesville-based infantry unit has received worldwide acclaim and two humanitarian awards for their efforts to save Noor’s life.
Morgan said he thinks Noor will have a great future now that she has received the medical care she needed.
The baby currently is staying with a host family arranged by Childspring International, a Christian nonprofit that brings sick children to Atlanta for medical care. Childspring arranged the meeting between Noor and Morgan on Sunday.
Noor’s father and grandmother, who accompanied her to Atlanta, returned to Iraq in late March.
Morgan’s children said they were enormously happy to have their father back among them and honored to call him their dad.
“I’ve never seen anyone from Iraq before,” said son Andrew, 13. “We’re very proud of him,” said daughter Abigail, 16.
.JPG)
-1.JPG)
Services »
Comments
By Geo
June 19, 2006 10:56 AM | Link to this
Exemplies the best of our nations traits!
By Crick
June 19, 2006 12:11 PM | Link to this
What a wonderful Father’s Day for a wonderful soilder. Your children should be very proud of you. God Bless!
By Jenni
June 19, 2006 01:02 PM | Link to this
I am so thankful she stayed long enough for you to see her again. I am proud of all that you and Charlie Co. did to get her here. Thanks to all of you! I am honored to have been a part of it and that I saw her too!!!
I love you LTCJ! Jenni