National Guardsmen pay to have Iraqi baby see

Guardsmen foot eye surgery bill for Iraqi child

The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Dec 30, 2009 9:49:40 EST

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A wrong turn directed West Virginia soldiers to helping an Iraqi baby see for the first time.

Army National Guardsman Jason Hickman was part of a convoy five months ago that accidentally ended up in the village where Noor Hassam Oudah was visiting her uncle.

Although the infant’s congenital cataracts could be corrected, her family in Baghdad couldn’t afford to have the surgery performed.

Hickman asked for donations from fellow soldiers and friends and family back home to West Virginia. After raising $5,000, Noor had surgery Nov. 15, three days before her first birthday.

Hickman said he doesn’t believe in coincidence or destiny. He believes God puts people in certain places at certain times and all one has to do is watch for the signs.
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/12/ap_guard_iraq_surgery_123009/