BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- A mercy airlift from Iraq to the United States got under way Friday, as the U.S. military helped an Iraqi infant named Noor receive treatment for a potentially fatal birth defect.

The three-month-old Noor -- nicknamed Baby Noor by the media and whose last name has not been released to protect against insurgents -- is suffering from spina bifida. The birth defect results in the spinal column failing to completely close. Iraqi doctors had told her parents she would live only 45 days without treatment.

Accompanied by her father and grandmother, Noor is flying to Kuwait and then to Atlanta, Georgia. "She is doing well considering her illness," reported CNN's Joe Duran.

The child captured the hearts of members of the the Georgia National Guard after they raided her Baghdad home during a routine "knock-and-search" three weeks ago.

As the girl's young parents nervously watched the U.S. soldiers search their home, the baby's unflinching grandmother thrust the little girl at the Americans, showing them the purple pouch protruding from her back.

Pfc. Justin Donnelly, an Army medic in the unit that found the child, examined Noor and said it was apparent something was wrong with her.

"I really wanted to help her as much as possible," Donnelly said Friday. "So what I did was all I could do, really, and see what happens from there."...