CLEVELAND -- A little Iraqi girl burned by a roadside bomb touched the heart of a local woman after an article ran two years ago, and it changed the girl's life.

Six months ago, Teeba Furat was preparing for major surgery in America, thanks to Barbara Marlowe.

Marlowe saw Teeba's picture in the Plain Dealer after a roadside bomb killed the girl's brother and left her severely burned.

Marlowe was determined to get her here, and within months, Teeba arrived with her grandmother and the surgeries started, beginning with tissue expanders.

Six surgeries later, Teeba is far from finished. Marlowe said she is going to be there every step of the way.

"She has changed the way I look at things, changed my priorities. Everything in my life that I thought was, isn't. It's done a complete 180," Marlowe said.

Marlowe said Teeba is turning out to be an all-around Iraqi-American kid, and the daughter she was never able to have.

Teeba's family is back in Iraq, so Marlowe is taking care of the girl.

A fund has been set up for Teeba. Donations can be made under her full name, Teeba Furat-Fadhil, at any National City Bank.