Charitable Foundation

White Memorial: Making a Difference in People's Lives

A Face to Face the Future

Brothers Kevin and Mario Hernandez, three and four years old, respectively, share the same loving parents, the same peaceful home.

And the same devastating birth defect.

The brothers, separated by just 10 months, both entered the world with a cleft palate, a malformation in the roof of the mouth. Left untreated, children with cleft palate can suffer life-long handicaps including severe facial deformities, chronic dental and hearing problems and even malnutrition.

In addition to the physical complications the condition causes, even more painful are the social consequences. People stare. Children taunt. Even well-meaning adults look away.

But thanks to the expertise of surgeons, dentists, therapists and other specialists with White memorial Medical Center’s Cleft Palate Program, the Hernandez brothers can now speak, breathe and eat without the stares they once received.

“They look like normal children again,” said their mother. “No one laughs at them any more.”

The cleft palate program is just one of the highly sophisticated specialty programs for children available at White Memorial Medical Center – one of the only places in the community where such care is available. A team takes a comprehensive approach to repairing the condition and gives kids a far more normal childhood.

Mario and Kevin’s mother compared the quality of life before and after the surgeries. “Now I take them everywhere,” she said. “No one can tell they were born with a birth defect. They look really good. I am so grateful to the staff at White Memorial. They are so patient and loving to my children. They are so prepared to help the community they serve.”

White Memorial remains dedicated to advancing the technology and expertise needed to continue providing the highly specialized care so needed in its community. For the Hernandez brothers, it has made all the difference.