She's just living her life

Following a whirlwind tour of the morning television

talk shows yesterday, Heather McNamara spent her first full day home after

lifesaving surgery doing what many children do.

The 7-year-old sat on the living room floor of her Islip Terrace home with

her sister and her best friend, sipped a bowl of noodle soup and watched

"Hannah Montana" on TV.

Heather faces months of medical checkups and a special diet after a team of

Manhattan doctors last month removed six of her organs to eradicate an

abdominal tumor, the size of a tennis ball. But yesterday she eased back into

life at home, surrounded by stuffed dolls and flowers from friends and family.

"She has such a will," said Heather's mother, Tina. "She loves life - she

lives life - to the absolute fullest."

Last month, doctors at Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital of

NewYork-Presbyterian in Manhattan removed Heather's small and large intestines,

spleen, stomach, pancreas and liver during a 23-hour surgery. Her intestines

and liver were reimplanted; the other organs were too damaged to be saved.

The surgery never had been performed before on a child anywhere in the

world, doctors said. Heather's medical care was fully covered by insurance, her

father, Joe McNamara, said.

Doctors don't know what caused Heather to get the rare inflammatory

myofibroblastic tumor, her parents said.

Starting next week, Heather will have weekly checkups and frequent CT scans

to make sure the cancer hasn't returned, her parents said. She receives

insulin shots for diabetes and takes antibiotics to fight infections.

"Because this is new, because they've never done this surgery before, there

may be some complications," Tina McNamara said.

Heather returned home Tuesday to a hero's greeting from neighbors and the

Islip Terrace Fire Department, where her father, Joe, is a volunteer.

The family, including big sister Stephanie, 10, woke up at 3 a.m. yesterday

and rode to Manhattan, where they appeared on ABC's "Good Morning America,"

CBS' "The Early Show" and NBC's "Today."

Heather brought home a stuffed dog and an American Girl doll - gifts from

the TV shows. They join the stuffed giraffe she dubbed "Dr. Melvin," given to

her by her parents before the operation.

In the afternoon, Heather was reunited with her best friend, Kylie

McConnell, 7, who came over for a visit. Heather showed Kylie her new dolls and

later they watched TV with Stephanie.

Yesterday also was a return home for Joe McNamara, who spent the past month

living in the hospital with his daughter.

"The long road's over," he said. "We want her to be a happy and healthy

little girl."