Her neighbors could not believe how her face had changed. No one called her "Mrs. No Nose" anymore. She said that she was happy to be home but that she was rarely allowed to go outside, because of the violence.
In America, she could ride a bike, swim, see Theresa. "I want to go back," she said. "I want so go back as soon as I can."
kurt.streeter@latimes.com
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About this story
Writer Kurt Streeter and photographer Anne Cusack spent four months with Marwa Naim, her doctors and those who welcomed Marwa into their homes. Streeter interviewed them extensively. He and Cusack were present during each of her surgeries and many of her experiences of daily life in America. Conversations in Arabic were translated by her caretakers. Cusack and writer Ashraf Khalil accompanied Marwa back to the Middle East. The account of the bombing that injured her is drawn from interviews with Marwa, her father and Marine Col. Christopher Conlin, who led American troops through her neighborhood on their way into Baghdad.
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On latimes.com
An extensive photo gallery chronicling Marwa's months-long medical ordeal, the ups and downs of her strange new experience in Southern California and her journey back home can be viewed at latimes.com/newface.
