The Assaf family grows by one!

Denville family hosts ill Iraqi baby, mom

7-month-old boy may have heart condition, will go to Children's Hospital

BY ROB JENNINGS
DAILY RECORD
Thursday, January 24, 2008

A 7-month-old Iraqi boy will arrive in Newark today for evaluation of a possible heart condition, officials said Wednesday.

Once in New Jersey, the boy -- Karrar Ahmed Hassan Al-Taramshi -- will be aided by a doctor from Morristown and a family from Denville.

Karrar and his mother, Hanan Hussein Obaees Al-Tiremsh, are scheduled to arrive at Newark Liberty International Airport shortly after 9:30 a.m.

The boy -- possibly suffering from "tetralogy of fallot," a congenital heart defect -- departed Kuwait on Wednesday afternoon for a flight to Washington, D.C., said Dr. Joel T. Hardin of Morristown, director of cardiology at the Children's Hospital of New Jersey at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center.

In advance of his appointment at the Children's Hospital next Tuesday, Karrar and his mother will be staying at the Denville home of Dr. Aref Assaf, Hardin said.

Assaf, president of the Arab American Forum, could not immediately be reached Wednesday.

The cost of the baby's hospital care will be subsidized by the Gift of Life of New Jersey Inc., a non-profit group that provides assistance to sick children. Gift of Life receives funding from Rotary Clubs throughout New Jersey along with private donations.

"That's what we do. We raise money for kids coming in here," said co-chairman Brian Romanowsky.

Rob Jennings can be reached at (973) 428-6667 or robjennings@gannett.com.