from baghdad to los angeles, a 24-hour trip, a world away. a new begin for youssif and his family. far from iraq s violence and uncertain streets. cnn correspondent arwa damon brought youssif s plight to the world s attention. she made the trip with the family and served at least for the time being as their translator. for youssif and his family, the every day in their new home seemed extraordinary. she has seen a toaster in cartoons. reporter: there were other slices of americana, previously only seen in the movies. manicured lawns, a swimming pool, a playground. another first, youssif s first doctor s visit with dr. peter grossman. this is not unusual.
reporter: dr. grossman donated his services and plan to operate on youssif six times or more in the months ahead. trying to repair a face savagely burned when masked men in baghdad doused youssif with gasoline and set him on fire. youssif was a reluctant patient. perhaps because of the incredibly painful treatment he received in iraq. let him know i promise i m not going to hurt him. if he doesn t mind, i m going to take a tape measure so that i can see how big that scar is. 16 centimeters. can he close his eyes really tight? excellent. excellent. youssif, can you open your mouth for me, ah? okay. what was it like when you first met youssif? when i first saw youssif, i saw a face that i had seen
the family is finally en route to the united states. a lot of hope there, a new beginning. but there was so much more left to do for youssif. when we come back, from baghdad to a burn center. stay with us.
several times before, a young child, very scared, a glimmer of hope that something could be done but not quite trusting. i knew from that moment that my work was cut out for me, not just from a surgical standpoint but on a human level. how can i get this child to trust me? and right now we re in the process of that. reporter: grossman scheduled youssif s first and most important operation for eight days later. on the trip to the beach, members of a nearby church wanted to help with spiritual healing. the church group recognized youssif from news stories and asked if they could say a prayer for the boy and his family. and they re going to need strength and they re going to need faith and patience. reporter: youssif s mother s wish for her son was more down to earth. she said she just wanted her son s smile back. and as youssif played by the water, the first time he or his
reporter: once out going, energetic and happy, youssif was not withdrawn, sullen, angry. she described him other ways, the old youssif was gone. coming up, youssif s parents look for help close to home and they end up finding it all over the world through the generosity of strangers. stay with us.