Sick Afghan boy on way to U.S. for vital operation

CAMP SALERNO, Afghanistan — Doctors and nurses in the intensive care unit at the U.S. military hospital here call him Blue, a 6-year-old Afghan boy with an infectious smile and mischievous spark in his slightly crossed eyes.

But unlike other Afghan boys his age who often run alongside heavily armed U.S. Humvee patrols, offering to trade their handmade paper toys for pens and pencils, Blue can hardly walk 50 feet before he is short of breath and has to rest.

Blue — his real name is Omar — has a rare heart condition that could kill him within two years if left untreated.

Lt. Col. David Barber, the hospital commander, said Blue has tetralogy of Fallot, a condition in which the heart sends blood to the periphery rather than into the core of the lungs, resulting in poorly oxygenated blood.

That, in turn, causes Omar’s fingers, toes, lips and tongue to turn blue, thus his nickname.

But if Maj. Sloane Guy has his way, Blue will undergo an operation at the Children’s Hospital National Medical Center in Washington.

Maj. Guy, a cardiac surgeon who has treated the boy for the past three months, has arranged for Blue to undergo surgery in one of the best pediatric cardiology centers in the United States, Col. Barber said.

Dr. Richard Jonas will perform the surgery gratis, the Larry King Foundation has agreed to pay for the boy’s treatment, and America’s Greatest Generation, a World War II veterans group, will foot the bill for Omar and his father’s trip to Washington and back, Col. Barber said.

“We’ve set the date for the operation at the end of June,” Col. Barber said.

“All we need is a word on transportation and Blue’s father can travel to Islamabad to get their visas.”

Dr. Jonas and officials at Children’s Hospital declined to comment, citing patient privacy rules.

Col. Barber said that without surgery Omar could die within two years. But if the surgery is successful, Omar could live to 40.

“It’s almost a normal life span in this part of the world,” Col. Barber said.

The treatment in the United States would mark the end of a long ordeal for Omar and his father, Fate Mohammed, a truck driver from the village of Murukhel in Paktika Province.

Mr. Mohammed has traveled all over Afghanistan and Pakistan seeking treatment for his firstborn.

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