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English: Ahmed, a 46-year-old school teacher in Karabilah, Iraq � a city of about 30,000 near the Iraq-Syria border � comforts his 12-year-old daughter, Hadael, while Navy Cmdr. Tara J. Zieber, a U.S. Navy medical director, checks Hadael�s vital signs. Hadael is in desperate need of life-saving surgery in order to live, according to U.S. Navy physicians who have treated her on occasion in recent months. Hadael suffers from a disease called �Oxalosis,� which causes permanent kidney failure. A recent shipment of medicine to help buy time for the girl was recently donated through U.S. non-government agencies and is helping to keep her alive, until an organ donor can be found to fix her deteriorating health. Hadael�s case has recently garnered attention in the U.S. after several non-profit organizations and a congressman from California learned of her situation. Her case was first brought to their attention upon the death of Lance Cpl. Aaron W. Simons, a rifleman with the Marines serving in Karabilah. After befriending Hadael�s family, Simons was killed in combat. Just days before his death, Simons vowed to help Hadael. Of Ahmed�s seven children, Hadael is one of three who remain alive today. Four died from �Oxalosis.�