Marwa’s recovery

Marwa peers into the eyes of Dr. Tim Miller at UCLA Medical Center, where she will have four surgeries, all free, to reconstruct her nose. The blast that injured her razed her house on Baghdad’s outskirts and killed her mother. (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

Sept. 16, 2014 3:03 PM PT

Marwa comes to after the initial surgery, in which a flap of skin was cut from her forehead, twisted and brought down to form a nose. Cartilage was removed from her right ear to build the tip. Although the source of the explosion that injured her was unknown, she had blamed Americans and, when the offer for aid came, wondered if she could trust them. (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

Saad Alazzawi, who with his family was host to Marwa for most of her stay, stands outside the recovery room. “She represents the tragedy of Iraq,” he said. (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

After her final surgery, Marwa holds the hand of Theresa Moussa, who works for UCLA helping the hospital with Arabic-speaking patients. The two grew close. (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

Marwa attends a news conference with Theresa Moussa. Plastic surgeons at UCLA donated the four reconstructive surgeries performed over four months. (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

Marwa Naim is embraced by Dr. Timothy Miller, chief of plastic surgery at UCLA Medical Center. While pleased with Marwa ‘s physical recovery, Miller is particularly enthused about the psychological and emotional improvements he’s seen in her. (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

Marwa , left, with Theresa Moussa, a UCLA staffer who has been her translator, companion and surrogate mother, looks at a photograph of herself before the surgeries. (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

Eyes no longer downcast, Marwa poses for her last portrait by a UCLA photographer. Gone is the shy, scared girl who arrived in L.A. in January carrying all of her belongings in a small bag. On her trip home her luggage would be filled with new clothes, stuffed animals, jewelry, purses - and photos of those who had cared for her. (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

Willing to try almost anything new, Marwa gets doused on a ride at SeaWorld. As she and Saad explored the theme park, she would sprint ahead from one exhibit to the next, saying, “Come on. Come on.” (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

Marwa enjoys the seaside scene at a San Onofre rest stop during an outing to San Diego. Sometimes, among the many moods her bewildering experience evoked, all she wanted to do was play freely outside, a freedom she did not enjoy in Iraq because of the violence and danger. (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

On her return trip, the young traveler dabs her eye after reading a letter from her UCLA interpreter, who said she’d never forget Marwa. (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

On a stopover in Amman, Jordan, Marwa clings to her father, Mohammed Naim, who has yet to tell her that he has remarried. (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

Dr. Timothy Miller, chief of plastic surgery at UCLA Medical Center, prepares Marwa for surgery. She returned to continue plastic surgery to reconstruct her nose, lost in an air strike during the invasion of Iraq in 2003. (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

Theresa Moussa, UCLA medical liaison, left, holds Marwa’s hands before she is wheeled into surgery. (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

Marwa listens to her caretaker after plastic surgery to continue the reconstruction of her nose. (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

Marwa is greeted by her guardian, Saad Allawazi, center, as she is wheeled from UCLA Medical Center after she had plastic surgery to continue the reconstruction of her nose. (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)