Thomas James Hurst

Domestic: Journey of Hope

Muhammed Hussein was shot in the face in Baghdad by a group of militants. The wound left the two-year-old in critical condition. The organization, "Healing the Children," helped arrange for Muhammed 's passage to America, hoping to save the sight in his one remaining eye, and to transform his misshapen face. In May 2006, Muhammed made the journey, with his grandmother by his side, from his war-torn neighborhood in Iraq to the home of a wealthy, Christian family that felt called to help. The boy is still living with the family, adjusting to another world, and waiting for his surgeries before returning home.

Photographers Note: May 2007 - This project is still ongoing. It has taken over a year for elite facial-cranial doctors to determine how to best approach reconstructing Muhammed's face.

© 2006-2007 Thomas James Hurst/The Seattle Times

Foster mother Julie Smith comforts 3-year-old Muhammed during a visit to a doctor's office. "He can go from sad to happy really fast," she says. He now can recite his ABCs, count to 10 and say "I love you," Smith says. Nine months later, Muhammed speaks excellent English and has forgotten his Arabic language.
   
Three-year-old Muhammed Hussein, blind from being shot in the face in his home country of Iraq, extends his arms searching for his grandmother after their long journey from Baghdad to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
   
Three-year-old Muhammed sits between his Iraqi grandmother Saudna Ali and his new foster mother Julie Smith at her home in Snohomish. Saudna wanted to see her grandson one last time before she returned to Iraq.
     
  
An emotional Saudna Ali gives her grandson a long hug before leaving his foster family's home and returning to Iraq.
   
Hair stylist Adrienne Vandall gives Muhammed his first haircut since his arrival in the U.S.
   
When he first arrived at his foster family's home, Muhammed refused to climb into the bathtub. Now, it has become one of his favorite rituals. He doesn't want to get out until the water has chilled and the floor is flooded.
     
  
Muhammed has been enrolled at Central Primary and is learning to use a cane and read Braille. For the 3-year-old boy who miraculously survived a gunshot wound to the face in his native Iraq, making his way through life with a white cane and Braille would be a wonderful victory.
   
Muhammed calls out "bazoona" (an Iraqi word for female cat) and gives his furry pal, otherwise known as "Baby," a hug.
   
Elizabeth Williams, an education assistant for the Snohomish School District, makes sure Muhammed is buckled up for his bus ride home following his day at school.
     
  
Foster mother Julie Smith and local Iraqi translator Raffi Ohamian wait with Muhammed before he is to be sedated for a CT scan at Swedish Medical Center.
   
Swedish Medical Center staff rotates an unconscious Muhammed following a CT scan so that he can be further evaluated by a team of eye doctors.
   
Muhammed's CAT scan shows the damage to his face. Doctors believe he was shot with shotgun. In addition to the structural damage, Muhammed lost his eyesight in the attack.
     
  
Using pieces of Muhammed's rib, Dr. Joseph Gruss prepares to insert the bone that will serve to hold up Muhammed's nose. The four-year-old has been unable to breath through his nose since being shot in the face and has suffered from severe sleep apnea. With plastic stints in place in his nasal cavity, Muhammed will once again have the ability to breath properly
   
Plastic surgeon Craig Birgfeld, left and cranial-facial surgeon, Dr. Joseph Gruss, right, work to sew Muhammed's face back together following a challenging reconstruction.
   
Home from the hospital, Muhammed sits swollen and sedated on his bed firing off caps from his toy cap gun.
     
  
Randy and Julie Smith, Muhammed's foster parents, walk him to the bus for the trip to school. The family doesn't know how long he will stay, but have grown intensely close to the newest member of their family.