Thanks to Dr. Cuadros — and Smile Train — having a cleft on the Navajo reservations of New Mexico is no longer a sentence to a life of isolation and sickness.
Nurse Celeste always tried to avoid working with the babies with clefts in her neonatal ward because she felt unable to meet their needs. Then her son was born with a cleft.
After getting over the initial shock of having a baby with a cleft, Bao’s family noticed that he struggled to breathe and was unable to breastfeed. They knew he needed help, but didn't think it would ever be possible for him. Then they learned about Smile Train.