A Great Cause

I never thought for a moment about driving my sick child to the clinic to get a shot. What could happen?

But when Nidal Abed, whose family lives in Fallujah, Iraq, took her one-year-old son to a clinic and was returning home, she found herself in the middle of an American air raid. She started to run down the street with her son, Mustafa, in her arms, and was thrown to the ground when a missile hit a nearby building.

When she regained consciousness, she saw Mustafa lying on the ground a few feet away, screaming and covered in blood. Shrapnel had torn his leg and most of his hip from his body. At the hospital, a large section of Mustafa's colon had to be removed.

He's now five years old, has never walked, and has to use a colostomy bag. Two Portlanders, Maxine Fookson and Ned Roach, read about Mustafa and contacted an organization called No More Victims, who began the process of finding doctors to donate their time to help him.

And because of their efforts and those of countless others, this Tuesday Mustafa and his father will be arriving in Portland to start treatment at Shriners Hospital for Children. Read Mustafa's story online, or contact Maxine and Ned to find out what you can do to help.