Baby Noor's Odyssey

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Baby Noor's Odyssey

Staff writer Moni Basu and photographer Curtis Compton reunited with Noor al-Zahra -known to Atlanta and the world as “Baby Noor” –this week in Baghdad.

March 2008: Baghdad, Iraq --The Iraqi baby shuttled to Atlanta for life-saving surgery in December 2005 is no longer an infant. At age 2 1/2, Noor, which means "light" in Arabic, still has a smile that matches her name. But life is not easy here for a child with a severe disability.

March 2008: Noor tries to crawl to her father in a city park in Baghdad. Though doctors in Atlanta saved Noor's life, they could not reverse her paralysis from the waist down. Based on scans of her brain sent by email, a doctor at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta said Noor's progress appears to be normal for a child with spina bifida. Added Dr. Roger Hudgins: "Give her a big kiss for me."

Noor's grandmother, Soad, says the toddler often puts her hands on her head and cries. Soad worries about what might be wrong. She knows Noor can return to America only if she has a health concern that cannot be addressed in Iraq. She says she would settle for a child's wheelchair. "We hope the good people of America have not forgotten my little Noor."

DEC. 12, 2005: Abu Ghraib, Iraq--At 2 months of age, Baby Noor is lovingly stroked on the back by her grandmother at their home in this impoverished neighborhood. Soldiers in the Georgia National Guard helped get Noor to Atlanta, where doctors removed the tumor on her back.

Dec. 2005: Baby Noor and her grandmother, Soad (right) are greeted by their host family's mother as they arrive at Hartsfield International Airport. Soad and Noor's father, Haider, covered their faces because of fear of reprisal from anti-American forces upon their return to Iraq.

JAN. 9, 2006: At Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Toni Lindros transfers Noor from a gurney to a hospital bed after her surgery.

FEB. 24, 2006: Dr. Michael T. Busch is the first to sign Noor's cast after spina bifida surgery at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta.

FEB. 4, 2006: Grandmother Soad proudly shows off the removal of the growth on Noor's back after the infant returned from the hospital to the home of their host family.

Jan. 2006: Dr. Roger Hudgins, chief of neurosurgery at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta hugs Baby Noor in his Atlanta office.

FEB 18, 2006: Host mother Nancy and Noor pause for a souvenir moment during a visit to The World of Coca-Cola.

MARCH 2, 2006: Host mom Nancy and Noor take time for their daily ritual, retreating to the bathroom for 30 minutes of "girl talk.

MARCH 3, 2006: Kim Jackson (center, wearing tie) and other employees at the Georgia Aquarium can't resist meeting Noor as she passes through a security area with host mom Nancy during a family visit.

March 2006: Haider holds his daughter, Noor, as they take in the sights and sounds of the Varsity.

May 19, 2006: Cutting her first teeth, Noor has her gums massaged by host mom Nancy Turner at their Alpharetta home.

Feb. 26, 2007: Baghdad, Iraq -- Noor and her grandmother wait to see a doctor in the medical offices of the Iraqi National Assistance Center in the Green Zone. No longer in the spotlight in America, Noor became a child in need among many in Iraq.

Feb, 26, 2007: Baghdad, Iraq -- On this day, Noor's grandmother learned the child, at 18 months, had a urinary tract infection that was causing fever and making her belly swell. Many doctors have fled Iraq, and getting health care for a child with special needs is difficult.

Feb. 26, 2007: Baghdad, Iraq --Noor's family say they paid a price for accepting help from Americans. Upon their return from Atlanta, Soad says, her shop at the Abu Ghraib market was bombed. She also says Noor's father, Haider, was abducted and released twice after the family paid a ransom. They do not know the identity of his kidnappers. Out of fear, they left their Abu Ghraib home.

March 2008: Baghdad, Iraq --Noor, no longer a baby, is more difficult for her grandmother, Soad, to carry. Soad has been Noor's primary caregiver from the start. Her mother and father have divorced, and both have remarried. Here, her father, Haider holds Noor in his arms.

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March 2008: Baghdad, Iraq --The Iraqi baby shuttled to Atlanta for life-saving surgery in December 2005 is no longer an infant. At age 2 1/2, Noor, which means "light" in Arabic, still has a smile that matches her name. But life is not easy here for a child with a severe disability.

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