SNOHOMISH — It was more than just a birthday party.
Muhammed “Hamoody” Hussein turned 5 on Sunday. His foster parents, Randy and Julie Robinett Smith, threw a party for the blind boy at their Snohomish house. The birthday party doubled as a Halloween party with spider web icing on the cake and sword-wielding pirates and Superman running up and down the hallways.
Hamoody raced into the kitchen, having memorized his way over many months, with friends in tow.
Hamoody woke up early Sunday and suggested he stay home from church, an outing he ordinarily goes on eagerly. He just didn’t want to miss any part of the celebration.
“I am not really a pirate,” Hamoody confided to a guest. “I just have a costume on.”
Hamoody was looking most forward to opening his presents, hoping for trains. He had already received his talking watch and clock, which brought him great joy.
And he was already looking forward to his next birthday long before he blew out the candles for this one.
“I am going to be 6 soon,” he said.
That Hammody had another birthday in Snohomish made his foster parents happy. The Iraqi boy was originally expected to finish his medical treatment in the summer. That would’ve caused the boy’s visa to expire and sent him back to Baghdad, his hometown.
Severely wounded in the war, the boy’s recovery has been slower than doctors expected. Now they estimate that Hamoody would receive another surgery in early 2008, Julie Robinett Smith said.
That’s good news for the Smiths, who have worked with public officials to let Hamoody stay in America after the boy completes his medical treatment. The blind boy will have a better life here than in Baghdad, where sectarian violence has left many orphans and injured children, Julie Robinett Smith said.
“We are happy. We need that time to get asylum for him,” she said.
Hamoody, a Shiite, was 2 when Sunni insurgents fired on him with a shotgun at close range in May 2005 in Iraq. Hamoody lost his right eye; his left eye was left blind.
Hamoody was brought to Snohomish in May 2006 through Healing the Children, a Spokane-based international group that helps children get medical treatment.
People in Snohomish County have been supportive of Hamoody, said Rebecca Snyders, executive director of the group’s Oregon and Western Washington chapter.
“He is an exceptional child anyway, but his circumstances touched many people,” Snyders said.
After receiving several checkups and examinations, Hamoody went through reconstructive surgery in May 2007 at Children’s Hospital and Regional Medical Center in Seattle. The surgery aimed at improving the appearance of his face and easing his breathing.
Doctors recently replaced breathing tubes in the boy’s nose. When Hamoody starts being able to breathe without the tubes, he’s expected to receive another surgery, Robinett Smith said.
Meanwhile, Hamoody’s uncle Adil Joda hopes to immigrate to the United States and raise the boy. Robinett Smith said she continues to work with U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash., to get officials to allow Hamoody to stay in America.
In Snohomish, Hamoody has picked up English fast and made friends at Central Elementary School, Robinett Smith said.
“He’s doing great. He’s as happy as he can be,” she said.
Reporter Eric Stevick contributed to this story.
Reporter Yoshiaki Nohara: 425-339-3029 or ynohara@heraldnet.com.
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