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… Rosa existed in their own beautiful, sweet world. “He took his hand away on his own,” Rosa said, and she saw her son’s smile for the first time. Their first mother-son moment was short-lived. Soon after, a nurse rushed in to take Ramses … their baby stayed in the hospital. On her way back, Rosa could only think of the moment when her son opened his eyes and smiled at her. She couldn’t resist her tears. While she knew nothing about clefts, she knew at that moment that she would … her hope for her son’s bright future. She started to do research on clefts, and eventually found some leaflets from Smile Train that said there were free and safe surgeries available. Rosa quickly got in touch with a nurse who worked at …
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… from a difficult pregnancy to unexpectedly having a son with a cleft to receiving much-needed help from their local Smile Train partner. Saber’s Mother Saber defied my expectations even before he was born. I felt so sick early in my … met Dr. Walid Mustafa. He reassured us that Saber’s cleft was not at all our fault, then explained how he partners with Smile Train to provide cleft treatment to children in need, all at no cost. I couldn’t believe it; my wife couldn’t … onto his right to live and be in the world. He has already overcome so much and is now a healthy boy with a laugh and a smile that brings joy to everyone around him. Thank you, Dr. Mustafa. Thank you, Dar Al Qimma Hospital. Thank you, Smile …
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… story of a cleft mother’s bravery, in her own words. Favour, from the city of Port Harcourt, Nigeria, is the mother of Smile Train patient Annointed. Below, she shares with us her and her family’s journey from unexpectedly having a child with a cleft to finding the free, lifesaving care her son needed from a local Smile Train partner. The first thing I have to tell you is that my husband, Martin, and I loved Annointed from the moment … go so far to see their baby have a surgery they know nothing about. The blessings of Annointed’s surgery go beyond his smile. Now he breastfeeds while sitting and can suckle in any position. I also can leave him by himself while he’s …
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… told the family about a hospital in nearby Takmao that performed free cleft surgeries every day of the year thanks to Smile Train and its model of empowering local healthcare workers in their own hospitals. A short while later, Sel received a Smile Train-sponsored surgery to heal his cleft lip. About a year later — when his doctors determined the time was right … his baby pictures in the hopes that when he passes a child with a cleft, he won’t show them pity, he’ll show them to Smile Train. Help us provide all children with the cleft surgery they need to thrive and build up healthcare capacity in …
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… perseverance, the kindness of others, and the power of technology, he lives each day with confidence, health, and a smile. And if the robots do turn against us, he’s prepared for that, too. He knows karate. Jenious’ mother, Jamuna, went … many surgeries to thrive. He fell sick often and spent a lot of time in the hospital. But this is another advantage of Smile Train’s model: Because Smile Train empowers community healthcare workers in the places our patients live , Jenious’ cleft team at B and B is …
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… Yohanes with a spoon and told her that, though her son qualified for free cleft surgery thanks to their partnership with Smile Train, it would not be safe to perform it until he reached a healthy enough weight. At his current pace, he … and Aschalew saw him wheeled out of the OR, they felt they could breathe for the first time since he was born. And smile. He recovered well and was soon eating and drinking greedily as every other baby. Yohanes is now a healthy four-year-old and a big brother. Today, Yohanes is all smiles The whole family is deeply grateful to Smile Train for giving their son a chance to survive and thrive. They look …
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… Dr. Sally Adel is a lecturer of phoniatrics and a speech therapist at Alexandria University Hospital in Egypt. A proud Smile Train partner, she helps give the gift of clear, confident speech to children with clefts. In honor of … really had a hard time at school and with their families and I felt called to help them. How did you first encounter Smile Train? At first, I knew that Smile Train helped some children at the Alexandria University Faculty of Medicine, but I didn't know how the program was …
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… that it made my life lose all meaning,” Celia remembers. She showed this stranger her baby, and the woman met him with a smile. “Not to worry,” she said. “There’s a clinic nearby that can cure him.” She even offered to take her there. Celia … it but knew she also couldn’t afford to say no. The woman led her to the San Borja Clinic, a local cleft center run by Smile Train partner Misión Caritas Felices (MCF). The doctors welcomed them warmly and took Jhon Bruce Lee in for tests … the cleft team, including the orthodontist, dentist, speech therapist, and psychosocial counselor, and assured them that Smile Train would sponsor all of this essential care for as long as Jhon Bruce Lee needed. Looking at their sleeping …
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… her parents. Finally, when Angel was five months old, a doctor referred them to Marikina St. Vincent General Hospital, a Smile Train partner. They took her in right away. A thorough examination confirmed what Joy and Jonathan had feared: … upon seeing her baby’s face. This time, tears of happiness. Angel after cleft palate surgery Angel received her second Smile Train-sponsored cleft surgery one year later, to heal her cleft palate. Now, she could smile and eat like every other child — but that could not be the end of her cleft journey. Angel holding a picture of …
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… Con Houston Strength in Community: Cleft Con Houston "A space unlike any other" “A space unlike any other.” That is how Smile Train President and CEO Susannah Schaefer kicked-off the third-annual in-person Cleft Con — the one day a year … for a full day of panels and breakout sessions. One highlight was the “Fireside Chat” between moderator Iva Ballou , Smile Train’s Manager of Community Development, and Tucson-based TV weather forecaster Allie Potter. Though no stranger … three or four years old,” she said, explaining why she decided to tell her story. In an uplifting conversation full of smiles, honesty, and a few heartfelt tears, Allie recounted being bullied at school because of her cleft, discovering her …
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… on him. Instead, he fought back in a way they never saw coming — he talked to them, made them hear the human behind the smile they scorned. Federico gearing up to face the day “I would feel bad, inferior, but now I can defend myself, I speak … friends who understand me. Some would even ask what happened to me and I would tell them.” Federico and Bárbara share a smile Asked where he found the confidence to confront his bullies this way, he doesn’t hesitate: “Talking with my mom helped a lot.” This Is What a Cleft Champion Looks Like When Federico turned 13, Smile Train entered into partnership with Hospital Notti and the family got another fighter in their corner. Though his …
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… now defend itself from attack. Through everything, she and her team have never lost focus on bringing life, health, and smiles to all in need. Here at Smile Train, Dr. Tetruieva has been our hero since we began our partnership with OHMATDIT in 2008. This fall, the rest of … a cleft before turning to this work? What was life like for children and adults with untreated clefts in Ukraine before Smile Train? Prior to joining OHMATDIT, I was involved in the post-op treatment of children with clefts. While the …