"Operation Amina," as the Marines call it, is almost over, and its 2-year-old namesake is going home.
Later this week, a surgeon in Tennessee expects to clear Amina Al'a Thabit to return to Iraq, closing a saga that began more than three months ago in Haditha, where two Marine Corps reservists on a routine foot patrol met the toddler with an infectious smile.
She also had a heart defect.
That discovery triggered a logistical dash to get Amina life-saving treatment unavailable in Iraq.
It started with the work of Marines and a Navy doctor assigned to a Belle Chasse, La.-based infantry battalion in Iraq and a pediatric heart surgeon in Nashville who agreed to treat Amina free of charge.
Karla Christian, associate chief of pediatric heart surgery at Vanderbilt University's Children's Hospital, operated and, pending a final checkup, expects to clear Amina to go home
Good luck Amina and kudo's to Marine Reservists 1st Lt. Steven Dobb, Sgt. Brian Vasquez, Maj. Kevin Jarrard, Navy Capt. John Nadeau and Dr. Karla Christian. God Bless you and also those that unselfishly gave of their time to save this beautiful child.
This is what I want people to remember about Haditha.
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