Operation Smile Provides Surgery to Three Children as Part of World Care Program The life of seven-year-old Rayan Faeq from Iraq has been changed forever thanks to the efforts of Operation Smile, Congressmen, a U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel in Iraq and a Washington, D.C. law firm. Rayan suffered from ankylosis of the left temporomandibular, a severe deformity of the mouth that limits her ability to open it. As a result, Rayan had difficulty eating, drinking, and even breathing. Because she could only eat by tearing her food into tiny pieces and putting them through the small opening between her teeth, she was malnourished and extremely small for her age. Also due to her jaw deformity, an unusual amount of pressure was being applied to her windpipe, and inhibited her ability to sleep causing her to stop breathing in the middle of the night. Rayan's mother, Parwin Hama Ali, left her other five children with her husband in the Kurdistan region of Iraq to travel with Rayan to Norfolk, Virginia. Rayan received surgery on June 11, 2007 at Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters (CHKD) in Norfolk. Dr. Bill Magee, Co-Founder and CEO of Operation Smile, led the surgery which included taking sections of her skull to reconstruct her jaw and move it forward. After the nine hour surgery, Rayan was able to open her mouth normally and will now be able to breathe and eat normally as well. Her mother said, "This is a miracle." Rayan and her mother are staying with Chip and Jodi Simkins and their four children in Virginia Beach during her recovery before returning home. While deployed in Iraq as chief of a Military Transition Team, U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Dennis Chapman was approached by the Kurdish Regional Government who was seeking humanitarian assistance for Rayan Hussain Faeq's family. While his team was unable to provide care for Rayan, Chapman contacted his U.S. Congressman from Michigan, Representative Mike Rogers in December 2006. A Washington, D.C., law firm, which has previously worked with Operation Smile, learned of Rayan's case and contacted the organization. Operation Smile initiated an assessment of Rayan's conditions through Dr. Eaman T. AL-Gobory, National Medical Officer for the International Organization for Migration in Iraq. In March 2007, Rayan and her father traveled to Baghdad to be diagnosed by Dr. AL-Gobory and she became an Operation Smile World Care patient candidate. Operation Smile Jordan has been instrumental in facilitating logistics for Rayan and her family. Congressman Trent Franks from Arizona, born with a facial deformity, has been involved with Operation Smile for several years and has helped obtain passports and visas for Rayan's trip to the United States. http://www.operationsmile.org/news/news/#72