Humanitarians turned Delaware plastic surgeons raise awareness about cleft conditions like their son's
WILMINGTON, Del. (CBS) – Raising awareness about facial differences that millions of children are born with is a special and personal mission for a family of doctors in Delaware.
Nemours Children's Hospital is sponsoring the Blue Rocks game on Thursday, where it will host patients treated for cleft conditions. One little boy will be taking center stage.
Dr. E.J. Caterson has a photo of his 10-year-old son hanging in his office at Nemours Children's Hospital, Delaware, from before he had surgery to repair the cleft lip he was born with.
"It's just something that makes you special," Charlie Caterson said.
This is a special family story with an ironic twist.
E.J. Caterson of Nemours Children's Hospital and his wife met while doing humanitarian work with Operation Smile, an international organization that repairs cleft lips and palates.
"It is one of the most common congenital abnormalities in the world," E.J. Caterson said.
From that experience, E.J. Caterson and his wife Stephanie both decided to become plastic surgeons, and then came along their son Charlie.
"What are the chances that two plastic surgeons would have a child who had a cleft lip?" E.J. Caterson said.
Those are slim odds, but it inspired the Catersons to leave Harvard and move to Delaware, where E.J. Caterson is now the chief of plastic surgery at Nemours and routinely operates on cleft patients.
"The ability to change somebody's life in a 45-minute, hour-and-a-half surgery is such a powerful difference," he said.
Charlie, who's going into fourth grade, said he considers his repaired lip a badge of honor.
"I'm living a really good life, and it makes me feel stronger about myself," the 10-year-old said.
A good life where he's enjoying summer fun with his two brothers and getting ready to throw out the first pitch at the upcoming Blue Rocks game dedicated to National Cleft & Craniofacial Awareness Month.
"I am very honored, and I can't wait," Charlie Caterson said about throwing out the first pitch at the Blue Rocks game.
A little boy who changed his parents' world, and now they're dedicated to helping others.
Many other cleft patients treated at Nemours will join the Catersons at Thursday night's game against the Hudson Valley Renegades in Wilmington.