Sara Heller and Chris Eidam's 12-week-old son Brody was born with a bilateral cleft lip and palate. And much like other new moms and dads, the proud parents began happily sharing pics of their adorable bundle of joy on Facebook. Or at least they did until an ignorant and mean-spirited response caught them off guard.
"What's wrong with your son's face?" the comment read.
So rude. What kind of person bullies a three-month-old? But Sara viewed the slight as an opportunity to educate. "My job as his parent and his advocate is to tell his story," she explained to WOWT News 6. So she responded to the bully by attaching a link to a medical site that explained what a cleft palate was.
When they go low, you go high, right?
It was only a few days later, when Sara was out to dinner with little Brody and a few friends, that her faith in the goodness of humanity was restored. A server approached her to present a gift from someone at another table—a check for $1,000, with "for your beautiful baby" written on the memo line!
Pretty incredible! The couple told WOWT they plan to use the money towards one of Brody's many necessary facial surgeries, the first of which he will have this week.
"I hope that he continues to be our special perfect boy," Sara explained. "And that someday he can do something great for someone."
We're pretty sure he already has!
Hollee Actman Becker is a freelance writer, blogger, and mom of two who writes about parenting and pop culture. Check out her website holleeactmanbecker.com for more, and then follow her on Instagram and Twitter.
