Jarrard befriends another Iraqi child in need of heart surgery

UNDATED - The Gainesville Marine who worked to bring an Iraqi girl to the U.S. for emergency heart surgery is now trying to do the same for an Iraqi boy.

"I am trying to put the finishing touches on another child to the U.S. for heart surgery," Maj. Kevin Jarrard wrote in an email from Iraq. "His Daddy (an Iraqi Police Captain) and I cleared an IED (Improvised Explosive Device) the other night."

The boy, Amaar Hamad Muhammad, is 5-years-old.

Jarrard goes on to say, "The Medical University of South Carolina has agreed to do the surgery and the Rotary Club of Charleston will pay all expenses except travel."

Jarrard is suggesting to those who supported him in the earlier effort that the remainder of the money collected for that case be used to cover the travel expenses for this one.

Both the Medical University of South Carolina Children's Hospital and the Charleston Rotary Club have written letters to the U.S. Embassy in Iraq, asking for approval of the necessary paperwork for Amaar and his father, Hammaf Mohammed Thalaj, be approved for their travel to the U.S.

In their letter, Robin Ohlinger, Nurse Case Manager, and Dr. Varsha Bandisode, a pediatric cardiologist, wrote that they have received the medical report for the child "and it is evident that this child needs a cardiac procedure not available in Iraq. Medical University of South Carolina has agreed to provide the medical care to perform the corrective procedure repair of Tetralogy of Fallot at no cost to the family through a program sponsored by the Rotary Club and the Gift of Life of South Carolina."

According to the Mayo Clinic Web site, Tetralogy of Fallot is an uncommon condition involving defects within the heart structures of infants and young children. "Together these defects result in oxygen-poor blood flowing out of the heart and into the body. Consequently, infants and children with Tetralogy of Fallot usually have blue-tinged skin," according to the information.

They say they expect the boy and his father will be in the U.S. "for up to a maximum time of three months to receive the necessary medical care" and asked the Embassy to approve U.S. visas for both.

In his letter to the U.S. Embassy, Patrick Campbell, Chairman, Rotary District 7770 Gift of Life Program, said "Amarr and his father...will be housed and cared for by members of the Rotary International Clubs in Charleston, S.C." Campbell also requests that the Embassy issue the "necessary documents" to allow the father and son to travel to the U.S.

In the earlier case, a 2-year-old girl Iraqi girl, Amenah Al-Bayati, received a potentially life-saving operation at Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt in Nashville, Tenn., after being befriended by Jarrard, who spearheaded the effort to bring her and her mother to the States.

Amenah underwent a three-hour operation earlier this year that involved redirecting blood from her heart to her lungs in order to supply the toddler with better oxygen to the rest of her body.

She and her mother recently returned to their native land.