Curtis and Shelby McDowell didn’t hesitate when they learned there was a newborn with medical needs available for adoption. Shelby was born with the same condition and was treated at Riley.
By Maureen Gilmer, Riley Children’s Health senior writer, mgilmer1@iuhealth.org
When Curtis and Shelby McDowell learned that the baby boy they were set to adopt had been born with cleft lip and palate, they decided their match was meant to be.
That’s because Shelby was also born with the condition, undergoing multiple surgeries and appointments at Riley Hospital for Children when she was young.
Now 28, the Illinois mom of four was back in Indianapolis recently with her husband to meet with Riley’s cleft and craniofacial team about treatment for 2-month-old Shiloh.
“We went through a faith-based adoption agency, and they asked what medical conditions we were experienced with,” Shelby said. “We were open to many diagnoses. We believed we would know how to help and be a blessing.”
That was nearly two years ago.
They didn’t find out about Shiloh until Nov. 2, the day he was born in southern Illinois, when the adoption agency contacted them to say the baby boy could be theirs.
“We left it up to the Lord, and he led the way.”
The most common birth defects affecting the face are cleft lip and palate, occurring in about 1 in 600 newborns in the U.S. each year. Cleft lip is a separation of the lip, and cleft palate is an opening in the roof of the mouth. Both require surgery to repair.
While the initial appointment with the Riley team of specialists can be daunting for many parents, the McDowells took it in stride.
“It can be hard to navigate, but because I have been there, a lot of the information is not new, and it’s not scary to me,” Shelby said.
It helps that her parents are on this journey with them and have been able to share photos and stories of their daughter’s time at Riley as a baby until she was about 8.
They had no idea Shelby would be born with cleft lip and palate, but they were quickly referred to Riley, where their daughter underwent several surgeries and follow-up care over the years.
“I remember little things about Riley, and it’s surreal to be back,” Shelby said. “I had a good experience – I can’t recall anything negative about the medical team, and I had both my parents with me,” she recalled.
“When you have surgery and exams and check-ups as a kid, you can have trauma associated with that, and maybe you don’t like hospitals,” she added. “I really don’t have that. I’ve always thought that Riley was super inviting. They are a positive environment for children and a support for families.”
When the McDowells went to meet their son for the first time, Shelby’s parents came to stay with their three older children. Together, they prepared them for the difference in facial features that Shiloh would have but reinforced the message that he is otherwise healthy.
“They are already very attached,” Shelby said.
Currently, Shiloh has a feeding tube to make sure he gets proper nutrition, but he is otherwise doing well back at home. In fact, the family went on a long-planned trip to Disney World over the holidays, and Shiloh did great, his mom said.
In April, Dr. Emma Cordes, director of the Cleft and Craniofacial program at Riley, will do Shiloh’s lip repair. The palate repair likely will be done later in the year.
“I feel like the Lord is leading us to the doctors and nurses who are meant to help him,” Shelby said. “They truly want to help Shiloh have a better future and for him to live as normal of a life as he can. I’m not intimidated by what’s to come.”
Riley Children’s Health offers the state’s largest cleft and craniofacial care team in Indiana. Established in 1933, the program was among the first of its kind in the U.S.
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