A Mother’s Strength: Salome’s Mother Was Determined to Help Her Daughter
As Gloria cradled her newborn daughter, Salome, her heart overflowed with love. But her joy quickly turned to despair when the delivering doctor wrongly informed her that Salome had a contagious disease. Like many healthcare providers in rural areas, Gloria’s doctor did not understand that Salome was born with cleft lip and palate.
Due to this misinformation, the doctors separated Gloria from her baby for several weeks. To make matters worse, the village church said the cleft resulted from Gloria’s sins, excluding her from the community until the cleft was “fixed.” These tragic circumstances are too common in under-resourced countries, where healthcare is minimal, especially outside of city centers.
Despite living more than 18 hours away from Guayaquil, Gloria’s friends and family consistently encouraged her to meet the volunteer team with Global Smile Foundation (GSF) to get help for her daughter, even after recommendations from other organizations willing to help. Determined to find the best care for her daughter, Gloria made the long trip to Guayaquil for GSF’s September outreach program. Our team treated both mother and child kindly, explaining that Salome’s cleft was a common congenital condition, no fault of Gloria’s, and entirely treatable.
Six-month-old Salome underwent surgery to repair her cleft lip, leaving Gloria overjoyed. She could finally return home, have Salome baptized, and rejoin her community with pride and peace, grateful for the new beginning GSF has made possible.
“A mother’s relentless fight, a daughter’s second chance.”
