Sara Heller and her husband were ecstatic when they learned that they were expecting a baby, as they could not wait to become parents. All was going well until 24 weeks into the pregnancy, when doctors informed the couple that their baby would be born with a facial deformity.

Sara and her husband Chris were devastated, but they were determined to push forward with the pregnancy. Their child Brody was born weeks later with a  bilateral cleft lip and palate.

Sara and her husband were willing to get Brody the help that he needed, and they wanted to give him all the love that he deserved.

“It is OK to be proud of your baby no matter the circumstances,” Sara said. “We wanted to change what ultrasound/newborn/first year pictures on our Facebook/Instagram accounts looked like. We wanted to spread awareness of cleft lips and palates.”

Despite his health issues, Sara and Chris shared photos of Brody on social media to show just how proud of him they were.

Instead of getting angry when people would stop her to ask about Brody’s face, Sara would try and educate them.

“I decided to educate rather than create a confrontation because that is what I want Brody to do in the future,” she said. “I will want him to educate, to be an advocate for younger cleft kids who don’t have their own voice yet.”

One night, while the family was having dinner, a waitress approached them and handed Sara a folded piece of paper. When the mother opened it, she was stunned to find a check for $1000 along with a message saying “For the beautiful baby.” This had come from a complete stranger, and it helped to restore Sara and Chris’s faith in humanity!

The couple used the money to get surgery for Brody to correct his issues, and the operation was a huge success. He will still need more surgeries in the future, but his parents are happy with where he is now.

“This experience has shown us just how strong the cleft community is,”
Sara said. “We’ve been contacted by people all over the country. they are praying for us and asking us to reach out if we need anything.”

Find out more about this incredible story in the video below.