Parents Learn Their Baby Has Deformities Yet Choose to Continue Pregnancy — Now He Is Their Blessing

When a Nebraska couple learned their baby would have a bilateral cleft lip and palate, they chose to continue their pregnancy and raise awareness around this topic, unaware of the challenges yet to come.

The journey of motherhood is quite difficult for women, especially when a prenatal ultrasound reveals their child's development is abnormal. At this point, some women decide to let go of their baby, while others continue their pregnancy.

The woman in today's story falls in the latter category because she didn't abort her baby after seeing her son's cleft lip in the ultrasound scan. She and her husband chose to bring their little one into this world, not knowing how people would hurt them in the future.

THE ULTRASOUND SCAN

It was the happiest day for Sara Heller and her partner Chris Eidam when they discovered they would soon become parents. When the Nebraska couple first saw their positive pregnancy test, they were unaware of what Heller's initial ultrasound would reveal.

At 24 weeks, Heller's doctor asked her to go for her routine ultrasound scan. The results came as a shock to both Heller and Eidam because they weren't expecting their baby would have a deformity.

The ultrasound scan revealed their son, Brody, had a cleft lip. At that point, the couple had the option to abort their pregnancy, but they chose not to. They planned to welcome their baby into this world.

THE BEAUTIFUL BABY

As Brody grew in Heller's womb, his cleft lip became more visible. The couple couldn't wait to hold their little one in their arms and share his photos with the world. Feeling proud of her baby, Heller 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."

Heller and Eidam planned to raise awareness about their baby's condition by sharing his pictures, not knowing how people would react.

RAISING AWARENESS

Soon after Brody was born on October 7, 2016, Heller posted his pictures on her social media accounts, telling people how beautiful her little boy was. Since she had planned to raise awareness about cleft lips and palates, she hadn't expected her son to get trolled.

"What's wrong with his face?" an Instagrammer wrote after Heller posted a photo of Brody. The mother didn't know how to respond to the comment. She recalled:

"I wasn't prepared to defend my 3-month-old and why he looks 'different' from other babies."

A DIFFERENT EXPERIENCE

A few hours after reading the negative comment, Heller went to dinner with Brody and her friends. While her girlfriends played with her little one, the server brought a folded napkin and placed it on their table.

Heller looked at the server with raised eyebrows and then proceeded to open the napkin. Inside, she found a check worth $1000 with the message, "For the beautiful baby." Heller recalled:

"Tears fell from my eyes immediately, and the happiness my heart felt is indescribable."

TWO EXTREMES

While some people bullied little Brody for something that wasn't in his control, others praised him and found him beautiful. Heller was overwhelmed after receiving the check from the kind stranger.

Meanwhile, she also believed arguing or fighting with internet trolls wasn't the right option. Instead, she decided to educate them and expected her son to do the same after growing up. Heller said:

"I will want him to educate, to be an advocate for younger cleft kids who don't have their own voice yet."

MEDICAL PROCEDURES

With their doctor's approval, Heller and Eidam had planned to get surgeries done to fix their little one's lip and palate. The money gifted by the stranger at the restaurant paid a part of Brody's medical expenses. Heller expressed her gratitude, saying:

"The generosity of a complete stranger restored our faith in humanity."

Soon, the doctors fixed Brody's smile after he underwent multiple surgeries. However, the little one had difficulty eating while he was on the road to recovery.

THE SUPPORT

Since Heller shared her son's journey on Instagram and Facebook, she has received support from people countrywide. Netizens said they prayed that Brody recovered quickly. They also sent motivational messages to Brody's hardworking parents. Heller said:

"Being Brody's parent has taught me that people care. Strangers all over the country want to hear his story, and they want to pray for him."

After receiving immense love and support from her followers, Heller felt motivated to share Brody's inspirational journey on Instagram and Facebook. She felt proud of her son for overcoming many obstacles at a young age.

UPDATING THE STRANGER

The kind stranger's gesture remained in Heller's mind while her son underwent multiple surgeries, so she decided to thank him. The unknown person had written their address on the check, so Heller mailed a thank you note and photos of Brody to share his progress.

Heller and Eidam succeeded in their mission to spread awareness about Brody's condition. The cleft community supported the couple whenever Heller shared Brody's photos on social media.

Brody's story shows that outward beauty isn't everything that matters. Sometimes, a person's inner beauty, resilience, and ability to endure challenging situations make them unique.

Click here to read another inspirational story about how a boy born without a jaw who couldn't speak a word became a famous rapper by following his passion.