From Heartbreak to Hope: Gau’s Cleft Journey

Thuong believes it was fate that she and her husband fell in love. They grew up in the same village in northeastern Vietnam, where their grandparents first introduced them as teenagers. They were overjoyed when, two years into their marriage, they learned they were going to become parents.  

But five months into her pregnancy, Thuong received distressing news: her baby had a cleft. The diagnosis left her “heartbroken.”  

“Since it was my first pregnancy, I had no knowledge of what to do at all. I was really worried,” she said.

“On the day of Gau’s birth, when the doctor carried him out of the delivery room, I felt so emotional,” Thuong recalled. “I wondered how long it would take for him to grow enough to reach the right weight and age for surgery.”

When Thuong and Gau returned home from the hospital, the entire family rallied to support them, including parents, brothers, and sisters on both sides.  

“If they hadn’t been there, I wouldn’t have known what to do,” Thuong recalled.

Meanwhile, she dove headfirst into researching cleft treatment. On Facebook, she came across a post about the cleft care program at Ha Dong General Hospital, located an hour away in Hanoi. Soon afterward, she made an appointment.

Thuong will always remember Gau’s first checkup at Ha Dong — as well as what it felt like to learn that all of his care would be completely free because the hospital is a Smile Train partner.

Gau went on to receive multiple, life-changing cleft surgeries at Ha Dong. When he returned home, the entire family rallied to their side again — this time to celebrate. “I was the happiest, of course!” Gau’s grandpa added with a smile.

Gau, now four, is the “precious gem” of the family. His favorite game is soccer, and he loves toy cars. Whenever he has a day off from kindergarten, he always goes to visit his grandpa, who is all too eager to spoil him. One look at his smile, and you would too.