We’re sitting in a café in the Woodbine neighborhood of Nashville — not far from the home of Shaneka McCarter and her boyfriend — enjoying a cup of tea on a cold day in October. Just a few months ago, in late February 2017, Shaneka and two friends traveled from home in Nashville to Baton Rouge,… Read More
Luis Villanueva has just finished second grade. He’s seven years old, a math whiz, and his interests are typical for a boy his age. If it’s not Star Wars, it’s Spiderman or soccer, and we spend a good amount of time playing video games. His mother, Sulma, watches proudly. Luis is not shy. Not afraid… Read More
“I’ve been fortunate,” Ted Knurek tells me. We are sitting in the lobby of the Marriott Hotel on Canal Street in New Orleans. This is good to hear, since following a battle with cancer and treatment for bilateral osteoradionecrosis, Dr. Hugo St. Hilaire and the team at NOLA Craniofacial had to completely rebuild his jaw…. Read More
Evan Puissegur is eighteen years old now, just graduated and headed off to college at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Having endured a lifetime of surgeries, he’s matured into a confident young man and is happy to offer advice for families of children who like him were born with cleft lip and palate. Like… Read More
At just two years old, Elliot Kostelak is a very personable little guy. He greets me at the door, offers his hand, and then shows me around the house where he lives with mom and dad and a 22-pound cat named Jabberwocky. His mother, Jessica, laughs as she tells me, “Elliot has never met a… Read More
Watching his three children play together at Kenner City Park, Ken Gros makes a very good point: “Every kid’s a joy, and every kid’s a challenge.” Ken and his wife Rachel had three weeks to prepare themselves after a routine ultrasound indicated that their son, Malcolm (now two years), would be born with a cleft… Read More
It is a beautiful spring day at Heritage Park in Slidell, Louisiana. We are here to meet Lauren Faciane, who has taken time off from studying to meet us. (She is working toward her Master’s degree in Criminal Justice and Psychology). The fact that we are here to photograph and interview her says everything you… Read More
Surprises. When it comes to the health of our children, nobody likes surprises, but Dr. Brian Ghere and his wife Dr. Mary Catherine Ghere, noticed that their son Rhett’s skull was still misshapen several months after his birth. “Mama diagnosed it,” Brian says with a mix of pride and relief. After a visit with members… Read More
Stephanie Blakemore was born with a misaligned jaw that made life difficult during her teenage years and throughout high school. She always had trouble eating certain foods, and so when braces didn’t correct the problem she decided upon corrective jaw surgery. “It was a noticeable thing,” she recalls. “The way I was born, my lower… Read More