Cooper Flores

Cooper Flores’ story begins in Bulgaria. Born with a bilateral cleft lip and palate, he was an orphan for more than three years. But his heart, which was flipped and on the right side, was full of courage. 

"He is a fighter. He survived three-and-a-half years with no one by his side," says Nita Flores.

Nita and her husband, Michael, adopted Cooper. They brought him home to Livingston Parish, where he found that family is more than kin.

When Cooper arrived in Denham Springs, there was no time to waste. Days after touching down on American soil, he was undergoing surgery. 

And his mom, Nita? She was already looking ahead. While one therapy center in Baton Rouge required an 18-month wait, Nita found Launch Therapy, a closer option and a quicker start.

The folks at Launch Therapy, led by Dr. Chantelle Varnado, recognized the urgency. After 14 years in the field, Chantelle knew that Cooper needed services right away. She made it so.

"When I got that call from Chantelle three days after applying, it was like an angel had come down from the heavens and said, 'You know, we got you,'" recounts Nita.

But they didn't just take Cooper in; they became his champions. 

“They said ‘he’s done the fighting and he needs people to come in and fight with him,’ ” says Nita.

With regular therapy made just for him, Cooper, now 6, is growing, learning, and expressing himself. He's talking more and more, finding his voice. "This week, he said his first two-word sentence, and I almost dropped on the floor and passed out and cried," says his mom.