On May 5 2005 Alaa’ Khalid Hamdan was severely injured when a U.S. tank round struck her family’s home in Al Qaim, Iraq. Ashley Severance, a 22-year-old law student from Melbourne, Florida, contacted NMV and offered to help. She worked for months to set up pro-bono medical care in Orlando. Dr. Saad Shaik, a gifted retinal surgeon, agreed to provide his services free of charge. Alaa’ also received expert surgical treatment at Children’s Hospital of Orange, California, where Dr. Ali Kavianian repaired an abdominal hernia caused by shrapnel.
