Noora Afif Abdulhameed, the Iraqi girl who came to Portland in 2008 for life-saving surgery, will return to Maine on Wednesday.

Noora and her father, Afif Abdulhameed Otaiwi, will come to Portland so that Dr. John Attwood, a plastic surgeon in South Portland, can complete Noora’s medical treatment with some final reconstructive surgery on her scalp.

Noora and her father will be met at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City by Susi Eggenberger of Arundel, who originally helped bring Noora to the United States through the advocacy group No More Victims.

Eggenberger will accompany them to Maine on a JetBlue flight that is scheduled to land in Portland at 10:51 a.m.

Friends and supporters are expected to be at the airport waiting for the little girl, who spent nearly a year in Maine on her last visit.

It’s anticipated that Noora will have two operations over a three-month period to complete the reparation of her skull, which was hit by a sniper’s bullet in 2006 during the war.

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Noora was 7 when she returned home to Iraq in June 2009. Since then, she has completed her first year of school. She spent the summer playing with her sisters and swimming with friends in the Euphrates River.

“Her English is a bit sketchy at this point, but her spirit and joy remain strong when I speak with them on the phone,” Eggenberger wrote in a newsletter to Noora’s friends and supporters.

Attwood, Maine Medical Center and the Ronald McDonald House will once again donate their services to Noora and her father.

Their stay is expected to cost $6,000 to $7,000. A total of $4,000 has been raised through contributions from a private donor, the Kennebunk Rotary and The Sunshine Lady Foundation.

All of the donations are being used to cover air travel, other travel expenses, visas, prescriptions and other expenses.

 

Staff Writer Meredith Goad can be contacted at 791-6332 or at: mgoad@pressherald.com

 


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