NEW INFO: Iraqi Girl's Sight Improving After Cornea Transplant in Wausau

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Updated: 4:24 PM Sep 3, 2007 NEW INFO: Iraqi Girl's Sight Improving After Cornea Transplant in Wausau An Iraqi girl is regaining some of the sight in her right eye after undergoing a cornea transplant in Wausau Tuesday. Her host family says they know she’s seeing better because she’s walking better. Posted: 5:57 PM Aug 28, 2007 Reporter: Jonalee Merkel Email Address: jmerkel@wsaw.com

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An Iraqi girl is regaining some of the sight in her right eye after undergoing a cornea transplant in Wausau Tuesday.

Her host family says they know she’s seeing better because she’s walking better.

"There's a lot that girl needs to see," says Lions Club member Frank Bocek. "The bright colors on the toys, her pretty dresses, and stuff like her clothes. She's never seen this."

And the hope that Zahraa could someday see is what drove Bocek to get her here.

He learned of Zahraa through a local military member, Sgt. John Kempen, who met the partially blind child while serving in Iraq.

After nearly a year of trying to get her here, and an hour in surgery, the child is one step closer to seeing clearer and living without pain.

"We're going to try to keep her calm, and this is very hard to do with a 7-year-old that's very active," says Diane Wasniewski, a member of the Lions Club who's hosting Zahraa and her grandmother in her home. "We're going to have to try to keep her calm and keep her resting.".

And after a post-surgery checkup, Zahraa's doing so well, doctors are planning on performing the same operation on her left eye in a few weeks.

"Like Dr. Flaherty said, her vision won't be perfect, but she will have a lot clearer vision and be able to see the beauty that's out there that she has never seen," Bocek says.

The Lions Club plans on presenting Sgt. Kempen with a humanitarian award on October 6.