Blind Iraqi boy living in Snohomish to get second facial surgery
Published 10:57 pm Sunday, March 30, 2008
SNOHOMISH — Muhammed “Hamoody” Jauda is set to have another operation on Tuesday to try to rebuild his face.
This is the second reconstructive surgery that the blind boy will receive in America. Hamoody, whose family is Shiite Muslim, was shot in the face by Sunni insurgents in Iraq in May 2005. He lost his right eye and became blind.
The 5-year-old boy was brought from Baghdad to Snohomish in 2006 to receive medical treatment. Healing the Children, an international nonprofit group based in Spokane, has connected Hamoody with his foster parents, Randy and Julie Robinett Smith in Snohomish.
Hamoody underwent surgery at Children’s Hospital and Regional Medical Center in Seattle in May. Doctors donated their time removing scar tissue from his face and taking out four inches of his rib to rebuild his right eye socket and nose. The boy will not regain his sight.
The second surgery on Tuesday is to shrink scars on Hamoody’s forehead, nose and face.
When the boy finishes his medical treatment, his visa is expected to expire. The Smiths hope that Hamoody will be able to stay in America because the blind boy likely will face a difficult life in war-torn Baghdad.
Reporter Yoshiaki Nohara: 425-339-3029 or ynohara@heraldnet.com.
