Maddie McDowell, 6, is a kindergartener at Enterprise Elementary School this year. In most ways, she’s like other girls her age. She is a “happy go lucky” girl with lots of friends, and who loves school, according to her parents, Matt and Amber McDowell of Enterprise. She also loves horses, which is a good thing because her folks raise and train horses, and are partners in the Eagle Cap Wilderness Pack Station.

In one way she is different, however. Because she was born with a rare congenital disorder, Maddie is unable to smile.

According to her parents, their daughter has Moebius syndrome, which resulted in no development of the cranial nerves associated with facial movement, among other medical problems.

“It’s a very rare genetic disease, though it’s not inherited,” said Amber about the syndrome. “We were lucky to find out when she was a month old.”

Matt added, “We are blessed to live in Wallowa County. She’s never been made to feel embarrassed or different. Everyone treats her like any other kid. We wouldn’t want to raise her any other place.”

One of Maddie’s roles in life is to be a big sister to brother Mason, age 2. Another brother is expected in the family in January, though she had been hoping for a sister this time around.

Maddie has already been through years of treatments and several operations to correct her club feet (at the Shriner Hospital for Crippled Children) and to realign her crossed eyes, both connected to the Moebius syndrome.

Now Maddie’s parents are looking forward in the near future to two operations by a famous surgeon in Toronto, Canada, that will allow her to close her mouth and also give her a smile.

They’ll have even more reason to feel lucky to live in Wallowa this Saturday night, when the Family Career and Family Leaders of America (FCCLA) chapter of Enterprise High School is hosting a “Smiles from the Heart” prime rib dinner and auction at the Enterprise Elks Lodge.

Amber McDowell is a 1995 graduate of Enterprise High School, and though she was never a member of the FCCLA chapter, both her younger sisters were, and she said advisor Debbie Hadden is a good friend of the family.

Hadden said that the idea for the fundraiser stems from a state- and national-level presentation on Maddie’s condition given last year by FCCLA members Julie Butterfield and Madelyn Smith.

Tickets are still available for the dinner, which will feature prime rib cooked by Donnie Rynearson and side dishes and dessert prepared and served by FCCLA members. Tickets are available at Video Buffs or by contacting Hadden.

Last week the McDowells received very good news: a verbal commitment from their insurance carrier that it will cover 60 to 80 percent of the cost of their daughter’s surgery. Matt McDowell said that the company had to be convinced that there was a medical, as well as cosmetic, need for the surgery.

“We were coming down to whether we would have to sell property at the pack station or sell our house to pay for it,” he said, expressing relief at the insurance company’s decision. “You are willing to give up about anything for your kids.”

The surgery is expected to consist of at least two operations and to cost about $120,000. No date has been set yet, but the McDowells are expecting that it will be around February.

The doctor who will do the surgery is a “world renowned” reconstructive plastic surgeon who has helped many children like Maddie in the past.

Amber McDowell knew about him from reputation, and heard a presentation from him at the International Moebius Conference held in Dallas, Texas, two years ago. The whole family then met and talked to him personally at a Moebius convention in San Francisco in July.

The McDowells said one thing they learned in researching Moebius syndrome is how luck they are that Maddie’s medical problems are relatively minor. The syndrome is associated with such things as autism, and missing limbs are not uncommon.

During the operation, two teams of doctors will take a muscle and nerve from her inner thigh and transplant them in her face.

She will stay in the hospital for a week or two, and then three to six months later will undergo a second procedure.

“It’s a huge surgery. It will take about 10 hours,” Amber said. “It’s scary to think about.”

Matt said that in the years since Maddie was born, he really hasn’t thought much about her smiling in the focus on other medical issues. “Now I think about it and think about it. I can’t wait to see her crack a little smile,” he said.

“We can’t thank everyone enough,” said Maddie’s mother about the dinner being held to help them out Saturday night. “The outpouring of love has been overwhelming.”