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Little Rhma tickled pink after successful heart surgery

Oct-14-2005 » Filed Under: 1/25 SBCT

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By Sandra Jontz, Stars and Stripes

Little Rhma has a new color about her.

Pink.

Because of a congenital heart defect, the tiny 5-year-old Iraqi girl hasn't had that healthy glow that comes with well-oxygenated blood circulating through the body.

But on Monday, Rhma underwent heart surgery in Albuquerque that saved her life and put her in the pink.

"She no longer is the color of a blueberry!" exclaimed Debbie O�Rourke, president of the New Mexico chapter of Healing the Children, a nonprofit organization that played a role in a huge mission that started with a few motivated infantry soldiers and progressed to involving Healing the Children, U.S. Embassy staffs, Capitol Hill, and a hospital and surgeons who donated to the life-saving effort.

Rhma was born with two holes between the upper and lower chambers of her heart, and a ventricle that fails to properly circulate her blood.

Her lips had a bluish tint, and the tips of her hands and feet were swollen and turned purplish-blue, a symptom called "clubbing" caused by poor blood circulation, explained Dr. (Maj.) Dave Brown, surgeon for 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, who first examined Rhma in May.

If the problem is left untreated, her limbs might have been amputated, and the pressure imbalance eventually would have worn out her heart.

Brown and Capt. Paul Carron, Company C commander, were instrumental in making the right connections that got Rhma from Mosul to Baghdad, then to the U.S. Embassy in Jordan and on to the U.S. for treatment. Her last name is not being published because her family fears retaliation for accepting help from Americans. [...]

Thanks to Terry for the tip on this article.

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