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Maj. David Howell with the Michigan National Guard stands next to Mohammed, a 12-year-old Iraqi boy who has come to Lansing for medical treatment. Photo courtesy of the Michigan National Guard.

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EAST LANSING, Mich. — Twelve years after he was badly burned as an infant, a young Iraqi boy named Mohammed will undergo a life-changing surgery thanks to the efforts of a Michigan Army National Guard major, Michigan State University and Sparrow Hospital.

Severely injured by an exploding oil lamp when he was a few months old, Mohammed is badly burned along the left side of his head, face and body, and also has lost most movement in his left hand. He never received proper medical treatment.

Now the man who befriended Mohammed in Iraq is traveling to the Middle East this week to bring the boy to Lansing for medical care.

“This journey has been overwhelming,” said Maj. David Howell, who lives in Grand Ledge, Mich. “From the first moment I laid eyes on Mohammed, I wanted to help him.”

A welcome ceremony for Mohammed was held April 9 at the Michigan National Guard headquarters. Howell, Mohammed and Edward Lanigan, the MSU/Sparrow surgeon who will lead the medical care, addressed the crowd. Also attending were members of Mohammed's host family and the Greater Lansing Islamic community.

The story began last November when Howell, while on duty in Ramadi, spotted the boy with his mother. Wearing a cap drawn low over his head, Mohammed continually glanced at Howell, who approached the boy and his mother.

“After I realized he could speak English, I began talking to Mohammed, who then looked up to me and asked, ‘Can you save me?’” recalled Howell, who had a picture taken with the boy.

“Those pictures haunted me,” said Howell, a battalion physician assistant with the 125th Infantry Regiment based in Flint. “I could not get them out of my mind, and I knew I had to do something.”

Before contact information could be exchanged, a security alert prompted U.S. and Iraqi military personnel to disperse the crowd. During the next few days, after his daily mission would end, Howell searched Ramadi looking for the boy. With the help of his interpreter and several Ramadi locals, he amazingly located the family in the city with a population of nearly 500,000. There he learned the boy’s story of being burned, and also how the boy’s father was slain by insurgents after they discovered he was working as an interpreter for U.S. forces.

“There was no doubt in my mind I needed to help this boy,” Howell said. “His father had died serving America and a free Iraq, and I decided then I would do whatever it took to get him the medical help he needed.”   

Mohammed is expected to undergo several plastic and orthopedic surgeries and rehabilitation lasting 12 to 18 months. Lanigan, a surgeon with MSU’s College of Human Medicine who works at Sparrow and is offering his services for free, will be leading the medical efforts. He will meet with Mohammed in mid-April to begin assessing the boy's needs and determine a treatment plan. 

“When I was told Mohammed’s story, I was moved,” Lanigan said. “As I learned more about his history and injuries, I knew that we could be in a unique position to help. This boy has been through so much at such an early age, and I am deeply moved we can play a role in his life.”

While Mohammed recovers in the Lansing area, he will stay with a host family that Howell found through the Islamic Center of East Lansing. Mohammed also will attend school through the center.

“He has never been out of Ramadi or away from his parents,” Howell said. “We need to do everything we can to ensure he is successful while he undergoes surgery and recovers.”

To help cover costs, Howell has set up a nonprofit organization called Martyr Medical Fund for Children, which will provide humanitarian medical assistance and treatment to the children of Iraqi interpreters killed in the line of duty. To make a donation or gather more information about the organization, visit www.martyrmedicalfund.com.

Howell said that from the doctors to his National Guard colleagues to the Lansing community, he is overwhelmed by the level of support to change Mohammed’s life.

“I could never express my thanks to everyone who has helped make this journey happen,” Howell said. “What started as a simple desire to help has blossomed into a community-wide effort to help this boy.”

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Michigan State University has been advancing knowledge and transforming lives through innovative teaching, research and outreach for more than 150 years. MSU is known internationally as a major public university with global reach and extraordinary impact. Its 17 degree-granting colleges attract scholars worldwide who are interested in combining education with practical problem solving.