Maj David Howell needs our help to help
Ambassadors in muddy boots. This is what they do. There are many stories like this, where Americans have reached out to serve a need for the people of Iraq and Afghanistan. Please consider helping out in this case.
Soldier David Howell seeks medical care for burned Iraqi child
by Beata Mostafavi | Flint JournalMonday March 23, 2009, 8:16 AMIraqi 12-year-old Mohammed and Maj. David Howell, a physician’s assistant from a Flint-based National Guard battalion.American Gangster movies
FLINT, Michigan —In a two-room, dirt-floor dwelling shared by a family of seven in Iraq, 12-year-old Mohammed awaits word that he can come to America.
In Michigan, Maj. David Howell, a physician’s assistant from a Flint-based National Guard battalion, works to bring the badly burned Iraqi boy here for surgeries that could give him a new future in his home country.
“He asked me, in his own words, if I could help save him,” said Howell, 55, of Grand Ledge, who met Mohammed in November on his second tour of Iraq.
Mohammed received his visa a week ago but is still getting funneled through government channels for his planned visit, which could be weeks away.
Meanwhile, a team of surgeons is studying Mohammed’s photographs, going over each burn, each blister and scar, planning for a series of plastic and reconstructive surgeries.
[…]
To add some more background to this saga, read this part of the story:
Howell also learned that Mohammed’s father had worked as an interpreter for the U.S. Marines — and it cost him his life.
Insurgents tracked the family down, murdering Mohammed’s father and uncle, leaving him, his mother and five siblings without a father or income.
“You have this Iraqi boy injured as an infant and a family that has really suffered because the husband came to the assistance of the U.S. military,” said Howell, a father of three who has established the nonprofit Martyr Medical Fund for Children
to raise money for the cause. “His father was doing the right thing and lost his life because of it.
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Categories: Public Service
I hope that someone will make Maj. Howell and Mohammed aware of http://greatlakesburncamp.com which is an organization that provides children burn survivors with an opportunity to experience a summer and winter camping experience free of charge.
Great Lakes Burn Camp is a great organization and I hope we will see Mahammed there next August.
God speed in your recovery.
by Don on Apr 12, 2009 at 12:03 am