Cleft lip and Palate Children

If you think having a child with a birth defect such as this is bad luck you maybe wrong. Although it was an incredible amount of stress and work and pain for my child to go through the endless procedures and surgeries he is the incredible man that he is because of it not inspite of it. It gave him the courage and understanding of many things. Pain..my son knows how to work past pain and knows its temporary and that there is always success at the other side of healing.

He learned to advocate for himself by the age of about four. How do you teach a child to look up to a surgeon and say I have questions. Your not listening to me. Thanks for making my face better. You don't teach that its something my then four year old child pulled from himself.

He learned to laugh at himself and others who asked stupid questions. He learned which foods work in a blender...mashed potatoes yes, spagettios yes, applepie from McDonald's also yes..pizza..not so much!

He learned to trust others, his parents, to ask for help and to push it away. What he did not do is make excuses for himself or use it as an excuse not to succeed. '

He had incredible surgeons who gave him a normal life and we made sure he understood in many lands these surgeries were not only not available but cleft lip and palate children are hidden or disgarded.

My cleft palate child graduated from high school with honors, played sports, went to a great private college, became a police officer at age 20..very hard to do...and became an infantry United States Marine and put on a Fleet Anti Terrorism Security Team.

No excuses..............just excellence! So if you have a new cleft lip and palate child guide him/her to excellence be grateful for a healthy mind and know that other parents who have been through it are there for you! Your friend in the journey Tamera