Rebuilding Wa'ad's Face and Spirit

An Iraqi boy named Wa'ad was playing with his friends when he kicked a bomb, which detonated, shattered his face, tore out his eye, and took away his right arm and left leg.

Thanks to a charity called Global Medical Relief Fund, Wa'ad was brought to the United States for treatment and surgeries to restore his mobility and reconstruct his face. His first stop was Shriners Hospital in Philadelphia, where he underwent physical therapy.

Then it was a trip to see an ocular specialist, Annette Kirzrot, who also volunteers for Global Medical Relief Fund, which was founded by Elissa Montanti. A prosthetic eye was the first step in improving Wa'ad's appearance.

But the tougher part would be reconstructing his face. That was the challenge for plastic surgeon Dr. Kaveh Alizadeh, who is with Long Island Plastic Surgical Group and was also recruited by Elissa Montanti, the founder of Global Medical Relief Fund.

The next step in restoring Wa'ad face was using surgical balloons. "My plan today is to go ahead and expand the skin surrounding the scar, putting a sophisticated tissue balloon underneath the skin and the skin slowly stretches over time," Dr. Alizadeh explained.

Dr. Alizadeh's goal is to minimize the scar that runs from Wa'ad's scalp down to his chin. The surgery was done at North Shore University Hospital, which donated its facilities.

That tissue balloon, implanted under Wa'ad cheek, will be inflated gradually over the course of weeks.

Finally, it was time to remove the balloons and to cut away the scarred skin, replacing it with the stretched skin.

The result was incredible. After the surgery, Wa'ad mother Waffa burst into tears after seeing her son. For the first time, his mother began to recognize the face she hadn't seen in more than two years. "Thank you, thank so much," Waffa tearfully said, looking at her son.

His scars will continue to fade over time, but this isn't the end of Wa'ad's treatment. The plan is for him to come back from time to time for touch ups as he grows older.

And four months after they arrived in America, Wa'ad and his mother headed home to Iraq.

Outside the airport, Global Medical Relief Fund founder Elissa Montanti waved goodbye, unsure if she'd ever see Wa'ad again. Montanti runs her charity out of her home in Staten Island; she spends about $50,000 annually on plane tickets and expenses for the children she brings to the U.S. She has helped over 100 children from around the world but vows that her work is not over. To learn more, visit her Web site.