Youssif

Youssif (born August 31, 2001), is an Iraqi man who was set on fire by a group of unknown masked men outside of his central Baghdad home on January 15, 2007.

Background On January 15, 2007, while playing outside his Baghdad home, Youssif was approached by masked men who proceeded to pour gasoline on him, set him on fire, and flee, leaving then-5-year-old Youssif to burn. After the attack, Youssif's father spent nine months trying to obtain medical care in Iraq to treat his son's scarring, without success. Doctors in Iraq told the family that there was little they could do to help and that the family's only option was to seek treatment outside Iraq, an option they simply could not afford. The story went on to become one of the most-read, non-breaking news stories in CNN.com's 12-year history. After a fund was established by CNN and the Children's Burn Foundation, over $300,000 was donated.

Youssif, his father, mother, and baby sister arrived in the United States on September 11, 2007. Youssif's first surgery was performed on September 20, 2007.

Progress and recovery Since 2007, Youssif has undergone over twenty surgeries.

Youssif's second surgery resulted in some short-term complications. Just hours after Youssif's family began celebrating a successful surgery, they found his bed sheets soaked in blood. Dr. Grossman and his team immediately returned to the operating room and found that the source of the bleeding was an arterial blood vessel, which was brought under control in just thirty minutes. Youssif, however, was rushed back to the operating room for the third time in twenty-four hours due to further bleeding, this time from an arterial blood vessel on the other side of his face. Dr. Grossman had to re-open Youssif's stitches—around 60 to 100 of them—to locate the source of the bleeding, a process that lasted almost two hours. By the next day, Youssif's recovery was back on track.

Before his attack, Youssif told his parents he wished to become a doctor. Youssif told CNN's Sanjay Gupta that he continues to hold this dream on the August 14, 2010 special edition of Sanjay Gupta MD. When asked why he wanted to be a doctor, Youssif responded, "to help people".