ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) – A Spa City family has made a generous donation that’s expected to help Capital Region patients who are dealing with cleft palate and craniofacial abnormalities.

You wouldn’t know it by looking at him now, but Carter Powell was born with a cleft palate.

“With mouthwash and stuff, I would have to plug one nostril otherwise it would leak through my nose and I couldn’t use straws because I didn’t have enough suction,” Carter said.

He’s undergone three surgeries, procedures that had Carter and his mom Jennifer traveling hundreds of miles. That was until Albany Medical Center’s Cleft-Craniofacial Center opened two years ago.

“My goal was to bring a model of care here where we saw the patients together,” Dr. Suen Adatayo said. “They saw all the necessary specialists in one and we formulated comprehensive plans for these children that decreased a lot of the burden on the families.”

Dr. Adetayo heads up the center, a first for the Capital Region because it’s a local collaboration of surgeons and specialists for patients like Carter.

It was desperately needed, but the funding hasn’t really been behind it until today.

Albany Medical Center has announced a $2.5 million donation from the Moser family of Saratoga Springs.

“Life is tough enough to have a card stacked against you that we can correct. It’s just a great cause to be able to fund,” Robert Moser, donated $2.75 million to the center, said.

Robert and Lisa Moser say they were inspired by the global organization Medical Missions For Children. Their passion for helping took a local focus when they realized the need for this kind of care in the Capital Region.

“We knew that we wanted to continue doing something like that and when we were introduced to Dr. Adetayo it was just the right fit. She’s like, I’ve said, a life changer,” Lisa Moser said.

“As the saying goes, to whom much is given, much is expected. And so, it’s more work for us but it’s exciting,” Dr. Adetayo said. “Our program has really expanded and the Moser family are really amazing people.”

Dr. Adetayo performed Carter’s last surgery. He says he can now eat and drink without any problem.

With this generous gift, the Moser’s and Dr. Adetayo hope that this will generate more interest and donations for the center in the future.