"What's your favorite show on TV?" I ask.

" 'Tom and Jerry,' " she says. And, after a prompt from Fatima, she adds: " 'SpongeBob.' "

It is one of my last visits to Noor's house before I return to Atlanta.

She has a present for me, wrapped in red and gold foil paper. She sits next to me on the floor, watching intently as I open it. It is a porcelain elephant. She wanted to give me something that reminded me of my native India.

"To the friend that brings happiness to an Iraqi family and became a part of them (Moni)," the card says. "We wish you progress and success in your work."

The card is signed "Baby Noor."

I try, but fail, to stop the tears.

Epilogue

I promised Noor's family that when I returned home, I would reach out to some of the people who played a role in their lives in America.

I brought back with me copies of Noor's last CT scans, done about two years ago. I e-mailed them to Roger Hudgins, the doctor who operated on Noor.

He tells me they looked "pretty darn close" to what they looked like when she left. I breathe a sigh of relief.

But he says Noor's headaches bother him. The fluid in her brain could be causing them. If she were in America, she'd be referred to a pediatric neurologist for headaches. She ought to be properly examined by a neurosurgeon, he says.

What worries him more is Noor's bladder function. She runs a high risk of complications from a urinary tract infection.

"That's most likely to take her life," he says.

It's what used to kill spina bifida patients in this country until advancements in urological care extended their lives. It's as though Noor is living two decades ago.

Without her bladder functioning properly, she could get urinary sepsis that could damage the organs and end in renal failure. She needs to be drinking lots of water and taking stool softeners, Hudgins says. I can't remember seeing Noor drink water except for a few sips with lunch.

I also sent Hudgins a photograph of Noor. He saved her life. Surely he wanted to see what she looks like now.

"What I saw in that picture was a very pretty girl," he tells me. If only she could learn the skills to adapt to her condition.

The family showed enormous courage to bring Noor to America, Hudgins says. He hopes they have the fortitude now to continue her care.

"But that's hard," he says. Even for families here in America who have access to the best medical resources.

Christina Porter, program director of Childspring, says the organization is willing to help get more supplies to Noor's family and possibly arrange for her to be examined by specialists in Iraq. That is heartening news, but I know acts that seem simple enough to do in America can turn out to be insurmountable challenges in Iraq.

Jeff Morgan, the soldier who set Noor's journey in motion, says everyone knew coping with life would never be easy for Noor.

"I'm glad to hear she is alive," he says. "I still believe it was the right thing to do."

Then he tells me something unexpected.

There were a few soldiers who did not approve of Morgan's efforts to shuttle Iraqis to America in the middle of a war. Some of the Georgia soldiers had lost several of their friends. They were angry, bitter. They did not think it was worth taking the risk for a family they suspected of anti-American activity.