Adopting both Daisy and Everett has been a dream come true for Nordonia residents Lauren and Hector Quiles, and one that has been prayed for multiple times. Their adoption journey officially started a few years ago with a few bumps along the emotional journey, and adoptions that never came to fulfillment. Lauren and Hector were about to give up on their dream of having a child when they got a call from Open Arms Adoptions based out of Kent in October 2021. Daisy’s birth mother chose Lauren and Hector to be the adoption parents. Just before learning this, their hope of becoming parents lessening, the Quiles did not apply for adoption funds/grants.
DAISY
In July 2021, a baby girl named Daisy was born in San Antonio, and remained in NICU for several months. She was born weighing under 2 lb. at 28 weeks (3 months early) with a severe bilateral cleft lip and palate. She had a lot of trouble with breathing, acid reflux, and unable to thrive. A surgical procedure called a fundoplication on her stomach was performed to help with the reflux, along with a gastronomy tube to feed her directly into her stomach. This surgery occurred the week before Lauren and Hector arrived in San Antonio to meet Daisy.
After that initial surgery and over 100 days in NICU, Daisy had three additional surgeries in her first year to help her eat and thrive. Three surgeries were for her cleft lip and cleft palate repairs. “Most cleft kids end up having over a dozen surgeries by the time they are adults”, according to Lauren. The surgeries have connected the muscle tissue in her lips and have closed the hole in her palate. Before those surgeries, her palate (roof of her mouth) had a large hole going into her sinuses, and her top lip was separated into three lips. The surgeries are slowly helping her eat better but a lot of her eating issues also come from being such a preemie with bad reflux and gagging. Her stomach can only hold about a third of what she needs from each meal as of now. All of her food still gets into her nose because her gum line on the top is still open; so even though her palate is closed, food and formula can go up through her gums and into her nose.
EVERETT
Everett was born in October, 2022, also at 28 weeks weighing just over 2 lb. He also has a cleft lip and palate, on one side of his face and not as severe. His first cleft lip surgery will occur when he is around 10 lb. He is able to eat on his own with a special bottle. However, that could always change. Since it’s so difficult for cleft kids to eat, they can end up with food aversions like Daisy did, which is where they stop wanting to eat any food because it’s so difficult or causes so much reflux. Everett also suffered from severe apnea issues, where breathing becomes problematic during sleep or feeding.
PREEMIES NEED CONTINUED CARE
Preemies born this early usually get home care services where a nurse, occupational therapist, speech therapist, and physical therapist visit once a week or two weeks. Much of Daisy’s care has been via Cleveland clinic.
GOFUNDME
A GO FUND ME fundraiser/charity has been set up to help the Quiles family with medical costs, out of state lodging and medical expenses that occurred for their adoption journey, while Everett was in NICU in San Antonio. Future medical treatments, and/or surgeries will be needed also.
Please visit the registered fundraiser at GO FUND ME http://shorturl.at/nO478 until March 1, 2023 to make your donation.
“FAITH GAVE THEM TWO CHILDREN”
Each adoption has cost almost $30,000. They had not had plans to adopt a second child after seeing that their hands were very full with Daisy and her needs. However, when the birth mom called and asked them specifically to adopt Everett, so that the siblings could stay together, they felt compelled by faith to do so.
WHAT HECTOR and LAUREN QUILES WANT NHN READERS TO KNOW
“In the USA, children like Daisy and Everett are often aborted; but we are just the beginning of a new generation that is committed to saving these lives. We pray that our story will encourage others to do the same”.
“We honestly couldn’t do this without Lauren’s parents Bob and Nancy who have helped us in more ways than we can count. Hector’s twin sister Daisy and mom Raquel have flown in from Puerto Rico to help us multiple times after Daisy’s surgeries. Our church, Hope Community Church in Hudson, has a great adoptive support group full of other adoptive families”.
“Daisy has taught us how true love, like God’s love for us, requires sacrifice and dying to yourself”.
Although Lauren and Hector Quiles dreams have come true of becoming parents, their finances have been depleted remarkably, in the process of adopting two children with many current and ongoing medical needs. Their story doesn’t stop here as Daisy and Everett will continue to need numerous more craniofacial surgeries and therapy.
