A Bright Smile for the Happiest Girl
The diagnosis of a cleft before birth is a surprise. But the finding of a cleft after birth, and after unremarkable scans, is the shock of a lifetime.
Zachary McCauley and Samantha Coates welcomed twin girls – Gabby and Isabell – in 2018. Gabby was raced to the NICU.
“I knew something wasn’t right,” Samantha says, reflecting on the c-section. “She didn’t cry.”
Gabby struggled to breathe and gain weight. She was transferred to Penn State Children’s Hospital.
There, Zachary and Samantha met Dr. Samson. “He came with his Team and reviewed her,” Samantha reflects.
“Dr. Samson told us, ‘When she’s in the operating room, she’s my daughter. I’m going to take care of her.’ That encouraged us
so much,” Samantha says. “I’ll always remember that.”
The surgery revealed a mass stretching from Gabby’s nasal cavity to the base of her skull and a cleft palate, which explained
her difficulty swallowing and breathing. Gabby received a tracheostomy and feeding tube.
Then after 62 days in the hospital, Gabby finally got to go home.
The Clinic has been in Zachary and Samantha’s lives ever since.
The mass was removed a few weeks before her discharge and in May 2019, Dr. Samson completed her cleft palate repair. In 2004
Gabby had palate lengthening surgery.
Gabby, now 7 years old, visits the Clinic at least every six months for multiple services. She receives cleft-related checks,
that include speech therapy evaluations, and dental services. Eventually, Gabby will see orthodontics too.
“They’re wonderful,” Samantha shares. “And they’re not just good with my child, they’re good with our whole family.”
Samantha even drives 90 minutes so that Isabell – who is not a cleft patient of the Clinic – can see the dentist there.
Of Dr. Samson, Samantha and Zachary agree that from the day he entered their lives until now, they don’t have a negative thing
to say about him. His care has given Gabby the brightest smile – a smile she shares easily with everyone.
“She’s the happiest kid,” Samantha says. Gabby loves pretending to be a mom and doctor, and she loves sisters Isabell and 4-year
old Estelle.
“LCPC is full of individuals who have experienced what we have,” Zachary says. “We learn from parents with older kids.
We’re assured there’s a plan of action and everything will be alright. We look forward to being part of the Clinic’s future.”
Samantha agrees, because she’s never forgotten that promise Dr. Samson made to her years ago, as she – an anxious new mother – prepared to watch her baby depart for surgery.
“He told us he’d take care of her – in there, she was his own child,” Samantha says. “If you want someone who’ll treat your kids like family, the Clinic is the place for you.”
