For most of her life, all Andrea Mocoi wanted was a normal face. A face without scars. A chance to blend in with the crowd. A Moorpark mom put the wheels in motion to make it happen.

"When she was 1, she had an allergic reaction ... then she was put under radiation and forgotten," said Adriana Henderson about the 17-year-old Romanian, who has been severely scarred since childhood. The two met in 2002 while Henderson was building a school in the small village of Scarisoara, Romania, through her nonprofit Start Thinking About Romanian Children Relief Organization, a group that helps the region's orphaned, abandoned and disabled youths. Henderson, married and with two teenage daughters, founded S.T.A.R. Children in 1999 and has made numerous trips to Romania. She said while she was compiling a list of items needed by the villagers two years ago, she was approached by the teenager. " 'The only thing I would like would be to take care of my face,' " Henderson said, recalling the teen's words. "In Romania, people are very unforgiving if you look different or have a deformity," said Henderson, who was born in the southeastern European country. "I felt what Andrea was going through." As soon as Henderson came home, she started brainstorming ways to make Andrea's wish come true, but the effort did not take place overnight. Still, she said, after some research, phone calls and through word of mouth, others stepped forward to help.

Henderson's organization paid for Andrea's travel costs to the states in May, and she converted an extra room in her Moorpark home for the teen. Robert Garabedian, a Fresno dentist who volunteers his expertise in Armenia, donated $3,000 worth of dental work. He joined the cause after hearing about Andrea through his wife, who had gotten word from her best friend, who exercises at the same Moorpark gym as Henderson. "It's serendipitous," said Diane Grossman of Camarillo, who works out at Body Circuit for Women in Moorpark. As word spread through the gym about Henderson's cause, Grossman got involved by telling her best friend's husband as well as the Moorpark Women's Fortnightly Club, of which she is a member. Once the club heard that Andrea arrived in America with no suitcase and only the clothes on her back, they got their daughters to donate piles of clothes, shoes and accessories. "It's amazing what people can do to help each other through their connections," Grossman said. Fresh Start Surgical Gifts in San Diego is covering all of Andrea's facial surgeries, which normally would have cost about $90,000, said Candise Flippin, a nurse at Fresh Start Surgical Gifts. The organization serves disadvantaged youths with physical deformities caused by birth defects, accidents, abuse or disease. Not only has Andrea's outward appearance improved, she has also undergone an incredible psychological change as a result, Flippin said. "Corrective surgeries drastically improve mental health, self-esteem, peer relations and academic success. As a confident individual, she will be equipped to go on to live a happy and successful life." Since she arrived in March, Andrea has undergone several treatments that can be compared to a reverse facelift. Skilled surgeons combined with Andrea's speedy recovery have created results so dramatic, the remaining scars go unnoticed from a short distance. "Thank God and Adriana," Andrea said in broken English. When asked how she feels about looking in the mirror these days, her eyes filled with tears. "I feel good now; it changed my life," she said. "I have confidence." Surgeries aside, Andrea is happily adapting as a teen in America, seeing many things for the first time in her life, such as Disneyland, the beach, Hollywood and San Francisco. She enrolled at Moorpark High School, where her favorite subjects are English, history and math. Though she loves America, Andrea admits that she misses her brother, grandmother and parents. "I miss home," she said. Andrea will live at Henderson's house for about two years until all the surgeries are complete. She's not sure what to expect when she goes back to Romania. "Everybody's going to be surprised," the young Romanian said.