Cleft Lip / Palate Support Group
Cleft is a congenital deformity caused by a failure in facial development during gestation. It can be treated with surgery shortly after birth with highly successful results. Cleft occurs in somewhere between one in 600 and one in 800 births. Cleft occurs in several severities and is divided in two major categories: cleft lip and cleft palate.
HI! MY DAUGHTER IS TWELVE YEARS OLD AND HER NAME IS MIRANDA. SHE WAS BORN WITH A CLEFT LIP.SHE HAS A SMALL HOLE UP HIGH IN HER GUME AREA THAT GOES INTO HER NOSE.THE DOCTOR WANTS TO TAKE CARTILEDGE FROM HER HIP TO CLOSE AND RECONSTRUCT THE AREA.THE SURGERY IS MONDAY..SHE IS VERY VERY SCARED AND CRIED THROUGH THE WHOLE PRE TESTING YESTERDAY..SHE SAYS SHE NO LONGER WANTS ANY SURGERY,EVEN THOUGH SHE HATES HOW SHE LOOKS...CAN ANYONE PLEASE TALK TO HER AND LEAVE HER SOME ADVICE OR WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT???PART OF ME WANTS TO JUST SAY FORGET IT BUT I AM TRYING TO TALK HER INTO GETTING THESE THINGS DONE BECAUSE DEEP DOWN I KNOW SHE WANTS TO FEEL BETTER AND LOOK HER BEST..I WILL BE CHECKING ON HERE AND HAVE HER READ ANY MESSAGES YOU SEND.THANK YOU..
was at the age of 18..Please tell Miranda, that I will be thinking of her on Monday, ..Please, feel free to ask me any question .
Take Care,
Ed
I want you to know that I too was very worried about the surgery. It's a big deal to a young woman. I am soooooo glad that I had it done. It gave me confidence. It was easier to eat. I was less self conscience when I smiled. You can't let fear hold you back from the things that you dream about when you close your eyes at night. When I younger, much younger than you are now, I hated the way I looked, I hated getting made fun of, I hated the feeling of being embarassed to enter a room out of fear that people would stare. I've had over 50 surgeries in my short life thus far. Many of those were solely reconstructive of my cleft lip and palate. I admit that I spent a lot of time in and out of hospitals growing up, but I met amazing people who understood what I was going thru, I got more and more beautiful with each surgery, and NOW many many people don't even notice that I have a CLP and I am very happy with the results. It's not as bad as it seems. Do not be scared!! Get excited! Get excited that you're about to have a life changing experience. You will be amazed when you see the difference it will make. Please email me if you have any questions for me! I would love to answer them as honestly as I can. Please get the surgery! There are many young children in the world who would love to have this surgery, that their families cannot afford it. Take advantage sweetie. I promise you, you will not regret it. You will be taken care of. These Dr's do these surgeries several times a day. They're pros!!