A New Smile for Daniel

When Daniel used to draw people’s faces he never added a smile to those drawings. His mom believed it was because her son was born with a cleft lip. “When they handed me my baby,” said Elaine, “I was in tears. I couldn’t understand why this was happening to him. No one in our family ever had a cleft lip. I thought maybe this is my punishment for something I did wrong.” 

Simple errands like a trips to the grocery store caused trauma for the family too. “My son became aware that he had a cleft lip and he felt sad when people looked at him strangely,” she said. “I remember one time in the store, a kid was staring at Daniel and started calling him names. That has been my biggest fear that my son would be an outcast and be bullied.”

Daniel and his family live in a remote town in the Philippines. His dad works as a truck driver but earns just enough for food and rent.   “We tried taking care of some pigs for another family to earn money for Daniel’s surgery, but the cost for the operation was too great,” recalled Elaine.  

Then Operation Blessing came to their community and arranged for him to receive free surgery at a hospital seventy-five miles from their home. “I started to have hope that finally, my son would get the operation we have been waiting for!” declared Elaine. 

The surgery was a success! Today, Daniel has a new smile, as do the faces in his drawings. “Seeing my son’s new smile assures me that he will have a bright and happy future,” said a happy mom. “I’m happy that I got my operation! Thank you,” added Daniel.