Our Forever Smiles with Laura Arroyo

In this heartfelt episode of the Our Forever Smiles podcast, host Laura Arroyo sits down with Britany Filipkowski and her daughter Sophia, a courageous young girl born with a left unilateral complete cleft lip, maxilla/alveolus, and palate. Britany shares their family’s journey, from early diagnosis and NICU days to feeding challenges, multiple surgeries, and the emotions of navigating cleft car...

Straight from the ACPA Annual Meeting in Atlanta, we sit down with Suzanne “Suzie” Santomieri, cleft coordinator at the NC Cleft & Craniofacial Center and proud cleft mama. Suzie opens up about her emotional journey from special education teacher to advocate after her own daughter’s diagnosis. Now she walks hand in hand with families through every twist and turn of the cleft journey. In this heartfelt conversation Suzie shares the ...

We’re at the ACPA Annual Meeting with returning guest and CozeeCoo founder and CEO Jennifer Stelmakh. Born from her real life frustrations with medical solutions and interventions, Jennifer created CozeeCoo, a thoughtfully designed surgical recovery vest that keeps little arms safe and healing cozy while finally replacing stiff elbow restraints. Jennifer shares how the energy and collaboration at ACPA fuel her passion for innovatio...

Filmed at the ACPA Annual Meeting, a powerful hub for knowledge sharing and connection, this episode features clinical psychologist and cleft advocate Dr. Danielle McWilliams. Born with a cleft herself, Danielle merges lived experience and academic insight to explore how gender, appearance, and identity intersect. She shares highlights from her groundbreaking doctoral thesis amplifying the voices of other women born with a cleft, s...

Recorded live at the ACPA Annual Meeting, where cleft professionals, advocates, and families unite to advance care, this episode spotlights Meg Lico, Principal Speech-Language Pathologist. Winner of the 2024 ACPA Young Professional Award and creator of the viral “Nose Movie,” Meg shares how her innovative approaches help demystify nasoendoscopy for children. From her journey in public health and Columbia graduate to nationally reco...

In this powerful episode of Our Forever Smiles, Laura Arroyo talks with Ellen Coulter, a media relations professional, wife, and mom of two. Ellen shares her emotional journey after learning about her son Henry’s cleft diagnosis during pregnancy. The hardest part, she says, was the space between diagnosis and birth, a season filled with overwhelming guilt, fear, and uncertainty. Ellen speaks candidly about how isolating those month...

In this episode of Our Forever Smiles, Laura sits down with Stacey Howell, a teacher turned homeschool mom and devoted wife of 16 years. Stacey shares the powerful story behind her family's cleft journey. She talks about the importance of finding the right cleft team, even if it means traveling far from home, and how faith guided her through it all. Her son recently underwent bone graft surgery at Boston Children’s Hospital and is ...

In this powerful episode of Our Forever Smiles, host Laura Arroyo sits down with Lauren Greenlee, a wife, first-time mom, marketing coordinator, and owner of an online baby boys clothing boutique. Lauren shares the raw and emotional story of her son’s birth with a cleft lip and how her hospital experience fell heartbreakingly short of the care every family deser...

In this episode, Laura Arroyo sits down with Dr. Aditi Kanth, a board-certified plastic surgeon and fellowship-trained pediatric plastic and craniofacial surgeon. As co-director of the Rutgers Health Cleft and Craniofacial Program at Bristol Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital in New Brunswick, New Jersey, Dr. Kanth shares her deep commitment to patient and family-centered care.

In this heartfelt episode, host Laura Arroyo sits down with Krista Pietersma, founder of Cuddles for Clefts, to share an inspiring journey of love, loss, and advocacy. Krista opens up about discovering her son’s cleft diagnosis and how it fueled her desire to make a difference in the cleft community.

She explains how Cuddles for Clefts was born, an organization th...

In this engaging episode of Our Forever Smiles, host Laura Arroyo sits down with Liv Broads, a UK mom whose son Rio was born with a unilateral cleft lip and gum notch. Liv shares her experience navigating Rio’s cleft journey, from the early days of diagnosis to preparing for surgery in the UK healthcare system.

Together, they d...

In this relatable episode of Our Forever Smiles, host Laura Arroyo talks with Sara Breen, a full-time working mom, program manager, and cleft parent living in Chicago. Sara opens up about her experience returning to work after her son Boomer’s cleft diagnosis and navigating daycare through multiple procedures and recovery periods.

She shares how she prepared dayc...

In this powerful episode of Our Forever Smiles, host Laura Arroyo speaks with Dr. Anna Thurmes, a cleft-affected adult, speech-language pathologist, professor, and member of the University of Minnesota Cleft and Craniofacial Team, where she was once a patient herself. Born with a cleft lip and palate, Dr. Thurmes shares how her lived experience shaped her personal and professional path.

In this heartfelt episode of Our Forever Smiles, host Laura Arroyo talks with Colleen Bennett, a Washington State native and military spouse of 18 years. Colleen shares the emotional story of discovering her daughter’s bilateral cleft lip and palate diagnosis while her husband was deployed, and the loneliness that followed in the early days of uncertainty.

Deter...

In this heartfelt episode of Our Forever Smiles, host Laura Arroyo talks with Tara and Michael Cory about their journey as a couple after receiving their son’s incomplete unilateral cleft lip diagnosis. They share openly about the initial shock, the emotional grief process, and how they came to a place of acceptance and clarity about their son’s future.

Through p...

In this inspiring episode of Our Forever Smiles, host Laura Arroyo is joined by Katie Manning, a trauma coach, artist, teacher, and cleft mom whose work is reshaping how we understand the emotional landscape of cleft parenting. Katie opens up about her experience raising a child with a cleft while also being married to someone who is cleft affected. Together, they discuss the internal tension Kati...

In this episode of Our Forever Smiles, Laura Arroyo sits down with Sam Rosen, a cleft lip and palate–affected adult who shares his remarkable journey from being adopted in Bulgaria to finding his voice and confidence through hockey. Sam opens up about what it was like navigating multiple identities, the unique challenges of growing up with a cleft, and how his mother’s unwavering love and his father’s sense of humor helped shape hi...

In this eye-opening episode of Our Forever Smiles, host Laura Arroyo sits down with pediatric sleep expert Dr. Funke Afolabi-Brown to explore the often-overlooked connection between cleft lip and palate and sleep challenges in children. From airway obstructions and breathing difficulties to the emotional toll of sleep deprivation on families, Dr. Brown shares her expert insights on how cleft condi...

When Stacey Hussell learned that her son would be born with a cleft lip—just like she was—she was flooded with emotions. In this episode, she opens up about the weight of passing down her diagnosis, the fears and guilt that came with it, and how trauma coaching helped her navigate the emotional toll. Join Laura and Stacey for a raw and inspiring conversation about healing, acceptance, and finding strength as a cleft-affected mom ra...