Baby With Cleft Lip Finally Smiles

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Sara Heller and her husband Chris had difficulty living a normal life with their baby boy, who was born with a facial deformity.

Then, a note with just a few kind words coming from a pure heart helped her to continue to be strong for her son.

At 24 weeks, the couple were informed that their unborn baby had a cleft palate. It was a shock to them because nothing out of the ordinary was detected in the first ultrasound scan.

Strangely, the doctor asked them if they would like to terminate the pregnancy. Sara thought it was a terrible thing to ask, after looking at the images of her precious baby growing inside her so  naturally they chose to go ahead with the pregnancy.

Sara also wanted to share her joy with the world.

She believed that preconceived notions about what babies should look like as posted on social media is just not realistic, so she decided to post pictures on Instagram right from the very start – even the ultrasound of her little boy Brody.

The parents were eager to break the stigma associated with birth defects. Brody was the most beautiful baby to them and he deserved to be happy with himself.

They wanted to celebrate his beautiful life and share him with other people and also wanted to raise awareness regarding the cleft palate. They shared information like how it happens – It occurs when the baby’s lip, or mouth does not join together completely during pregnancy.

Brody was born on 7 October 2016 and his progress was documented on Instagram.

Brody’s condition did not allow him to eat properly and in the beginning, he needed a tube through his nose. Later, a G-button was used to feed him.

Most people reacted positively but one night, however, when Sara was out with Brody and her friends, she read a mean comment on one of her photos of Brody.

The comment read, “What’s wrong with your baby’s nose? I’ve never seen anything like that. It doesn’t look good.” 

Sara answered the message with a link about the medical condition. She tried to hide her feelings, but her heart was shattered.

As she was sitting there feeling completely helpless, somebody must have overheard what had just happened. Within the space of 30 minutes, the waitress came to her table and asked for the mother of the baby. She gave Sara a rolled up note, which read, “For the beautiful baby.” 

Sara was in complete shock and could not hide her tears of gratitude. The note also had a check for a $1,000 along with it! She told her friends at the table that the negative comment had just been washed away.

The check had come just before the lip surgery Brody needed – in the nick of time and could be used for Brody’s medical expenses. The donor left his address on the note and Sara thanked him and sent him photos of Brody with his new smile after the surgery.

Sara still shares her son’s life as much as possible and aims at letting people see that birth defects do not have to stop someone from living normal lives. It also does not stop them from loving and being loved.

What a beautiful story worth sharing!