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           Children's Burn Foundation (800)949-8898 (818)907-2822 Info@ChildBurn.org |
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When Zubaida was nine years old living in Afghanistan, she was badly burned while pouring kerosene
into a stove. Unable to find help in Afghanistan, her father brought Zubaida across the border to
Iran where doctors told him there was little they could do. They told him to take Zubaida home to
die. Zubaida did not die, but her injuries were so severe that her chin fused to her neck preventing
her from closing her eyes and mouth. The flesh on her upper arms melted, fusing her arms to her chest.
After their return home, her father eventually sought help from U.S. army officials who were now stationed in Afghanistan. While the army does not usually handle individual cases, they took exception to Zubaida and contacted the State Department. A State Department representative contacted Dr. Peter Grossman, a plastic and reconstructive surgeon at the Grossman Burn Center in Sherman Oaks, CA. After much planning and coordination, Zubaida was brought to the Grossman Burn Center where she has undergone twelve operations over the past year, reconstructing her face, neck, chest, and arms. Through the generosity of many wonderful donors, the Children's Burn Foundation covered all of Zubaida's medical expenses while at the Burn Center, and Dr. Grossman and his wife, Rebecca, took Zubaida into their home providing a loving, supportive family in the U.S. for her. Enduring unimaginable pain, she has made an amazing recovery. Zubaida's enduring spirit and courage have sustained her throughout this incredibly difficult journey. This young girl now begins a new journey returning to Afghanistan to live with her parents and eight brothers and sisters. But Zubaida returns to a country where children struggle with poverty and malnutrition. Until recently, education for girls was illegal. The Children's Burn Foundation has established the Zubaida Scholarship & Recovery Fund to ensure that funds are available to support Zubaida's full recovery including future reconstructive surgeries, and the chance for Zubaida to go to school and live in a home with basic utilities. Hopefully, the fund will help Zubaida make her wish possible - to study to become a doctor so that she can help take care of sick children the way Dr. Grossman took care of her. Would you like to help ...?
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