Universal Language of Smiles

When I first met Waghdan Aljayashee, an Iraqi girl who is staying in Lexington, I felt at a disadvantage because I don’t understand a word of Arabic. But I am fluent in the universal language of smiles and hers is one of the nicest I’ve seen anywhere. Since then I have learned a few words in Arabic and she has learned a few in English. But we still mostly get by on smiles and nods.

Yesterday, she had her first pediatrician visit where she was weighed, examined and vaccinated. She grimaced for the shots but—you guessed it—smiled through the rest. Next week she will have her first visit to Shriners Hospital for Children in Cincinnati, where she will get skin grafts to treat burn injuries on her chest. No doubt she will smile through that as well.

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