From exterior appearances, Pierre Habib looks like any 12-year-old boy who enjoys playing on his computer.

Doctors know Pierre, a Linton Middle School student, is not like many 12-year-olds on the inside.

He needs a small bowel transplant. Pierre is active as a healthy child but will need the transplant before the condition turns worse.

That is money the Habibs don't have. The family is uninsured, unemployed and without U.S. citizenship.

They are living in an apartment at no cost at Zion Lutheran Church on Frankstown Road and using their savings.

The Habibs came to the United States from Egypt in October 2006 after the family faced discrimination in their home country. Madgy says he was told Pierre would not get a transplant in Egypt because he is a Christian, not a Muslim like most Egyptians.

Besides worrying about their son's health, Madgy and Enas are hoping they will find help with their visas, which expire in late January. The Habibs applied for an extension in April and received it in July, but the paperwork arrived in November.

The Habibs are focused, day and night, on solving the dilemma they are facing.

"Pierre is doing well now," Madgy says. "That is why we are feeling good right now about Pierre."

Madgy and Enas cannot work because they do not have an employer that has sponsored them. Enas worked as an accountant and Madgy was employed as a logistics officer in Egypt. Both learned English as children in school.

The generosity the family has received since their ar-rival includes a car obtained in Milwaukee through a member of St. Mary's Coptic Church in Ambridge, where the Habibs worship, and a laptop computer from Make-A-Wish Foundation.

The St. Mary members also have become friends with the family.

"I love this country and its people," Madgy says. "They have been very helpful and shown to be good people. I am trusting in God we can help our son."

The Habibs came to the Pittsburgh area with hopes that Pierre would receive a transplant at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh and a donation of $550,000 from an Egyptian Christian businessman would cover the surgery.

The anonymous businessman made the donation after he read an Egyptian newspaper article on the family's dilemma.

The Habibs' relatives are helping them as much as they can, but it takes a lot to help when when 5.5 Egyptian pounds converts to $1, Madgy says.

Pierre, who says he's a little scared about the surgery, needs a small bowel transplant because he cannot absorb food. Pierre's parents feed him with intravenous solutions.

The family learned he had a health problem on the morning of Aug. 18, 2006, when Pierre woke up early with stomach pains.

Madgy told his son to relax and have some tea, but the pain did not go away. A doctor in their Cairo neighborhood thought Pierre had an infection in his appendix.

Further testing at Cairo University Hospital determined he needed a small bowel transplant.

After contacting Children's Hospital, the family learned they must stay in the Pittsburgh area for at least three to four years after Pierre's transplant for follow-up treatment.

So the family wants to stay in the United States permanently because they are concerned Pierre will need follow-up treatment for several years.

The procedure takes about eight to 16 hours. Children's Hospital has performed the procedure on children as young as 6 months old, said Marc Lukasiak, Children's Hospital spokesman.

To help with fundraising, the Habibs have registered Pierre with Children Organ Transplant Association (COTA) in Bloomington, Ind., which has helped more than 850 families with fundraising to meet transplant-related expenses, according to its Web site.

Donations can be sent to COTA at 2501 COTA Drive, Bloomington, IN 47403, with checks or money orders payable to COTA and marked "in honor of Pierre Habib."

Secure credit card donations also are being accepted at www.cota.org.

Residents also can make donations at any PNC Bank branch by using account number 6006224897.

Volunteers are needed to help with fundraising activities.

Individuals and groups interested in helping can contact campaign coordinators Anwar Saad at 412-635-9778 or anwarfsaad2000@yahoo.com or Haney Wahba at 724-456-8312 or hwahba2003@yahoo.com.

When the Habibs raise enough money for the transplant, they believe it will go well.

"Pierre has a brave heart," Madgy says. "I know he will do well."