Cleft Lip and Palate Story

****When I say that a Bi-Lateral cleft lip and palate would suck, I do not mean to offend anyone. The truth is, if a unilateral cleft is difficult to deal with, a bi-lateral would also be very difficult, if not more so. Please don't be offended..****

I'm just telling some of my story and giving some tips. Thought it could be an informational tool for parents with cleft children. I know there are other Vloggers out there, they may have some tips for more serious clefts. If you have any questions or comments, don't hesitate to private message me.

My surgeons:
Dr. Murray (Missoula, MT)
Dr. Santin (Great Falls, MT)

My Orthodontist:
Dr. Ballweber (Helena, MT)

For those in the Montana area, there are annual Cleft clinics. Contact one of the above for details - their information is available online. For those of other states, my guess is that there are cleft clinics available. Good luck.

Category:

Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• Cleft
• Lip
• Palate
• Unilateral
• Complete
• Left
• Birth
• Defect
• Orthodontia
• Operation

[ocarinadude12]

I have the scar on my lip and the speech impediment to go with it. And today, I had someone "Whisper" right over my shoulder "I think he's retarded" to someone three chairs away. Those cold eyes that won't accept you because of your voice and slightly deformed face have made me into a quiet teen, accept to those who are kind enough to accept it. And now when I do speak, I do sound slightly retarded because I get so flabbergasted when I speak. At least I still have my own pride...

[Avonaliza]

@ocarinadude12 i can't believe that we still live in a day and age when people are saying such things. i am so sorry that you have to deal with that. but you know what - you are right; you have your pride. be proud of who you are, no matter what names people call you. you are an amazing person and don't let ANYONE talk down to you. for real. keep it up.

[kcsh11]

hi, Thank you so much for sharing this video, I learnt a lot of things from you. I am a boy who has this problem and even worse than you, because mine is two sides cleft. I have a question for you?

what did you do with your small tooth in your cleft?

I have hard time with it.

please answer my question.

thanks

[Avonaliza]

@kcsh11 hi! the small tooth on my cleft is STILL there. it's little and kind of lopsided, and slightly off-color, but it is still there. at one point a doctor wanted to pull it, but another said - no way. i have had problems with the tooth too. it was pulled to the front of my mouth, but after my braces came off, it stayed pretty move-able, so they glued to to the neighboring tooth AND they put a bonded retainer behind it. anyway, i wish you all the best. i am SURE that it will turn out fine :)

[snazzzable]

what, so I 'suck' because I have a bi-lateral? wow, so much for looking at videos to reassure me.

[Avonaliza]

@snazzzable no. i know that i don't need to respond to this, but i said 'which would suck.' it super sucked/still sucks for me with a unilateral, so if it didn't suck for you and you had a bi-lateral, then you are my hero. i didn't mean to get you down. seriously. so sorry. don't take it personally, bc it's not.

[rae629]

Pretty smile! pretty teeth!

[theloveman11378]

(pt 3 of 3) to cover the scar on my lip. All my life I worked hard to make up for my struggles. As t started to write these 3 comments I felt a bit teary eyed but I got over that after the second sentence, cos those early years were unbearable, but now I always say count your blessings, Thanks for opening up to your story, I wish I knew all the sequence of events of all my operations & had the photos but being poor one doesn't have the privledges. Hey accept my invite,& lets stay friends, Jimmy

[theloveman11378]

I had my last operation when I was 16, they took cartlidge from my ribs & inserted it to my nose a& closed the hole in the roof of my mouth. I had to grow up before they could do that final operation. Prior to that I spoke horrible & had a flat nose which accounted for most of my miery cos the kids would poke fun at me, that operation made me normal in the speech deptmt & my nose appearance & for the first time in my life I felt normal, I have a slight scar on my nose & a mustache (pt 2 0f 3)

[theloveman11378]

First of all I must say you look terrific & second of all it was so brave of u to reveal this story. Me I just try to forget & never talk about it cos the pain I endured in grammar school will never go away. Lucky for me I was raised in an predominantly white zoned school and the kids there were not too bad, but to make a long story short I had about 6 operations in all.I was born in 1950 at a miltary hospital and I had a good doctor who handled my case in the Panama Canal Zone. (pt 1 of 2)

[themirfmobile]

Great vid! You look wonderful! I was born with a bilateral cleft, and I still have two scars that run down my lip but I'm used to it and it doesn't bother me. People say the outcome was great, so I'm glad! I have two holes still in the roof of my mouth which makes my speech a little funny, but people who I hang around with lots don't even notice it. I can't pronounce "S" very well which I'd LOVE to do. It's so great to hear other stories from clefties :) once again, you look gorgeous!!

[curtly99]

@kcsh11 I had a tooth come in in the center of my mouth too, i've got a bi-latereral clept lip and pallete. I ended up pulling the tooth out my-self.... bad idea. Ended up tearing it out in math class 20 plus years ago and still have a small hole into my nasal cavity.

[10devonm]

I have it too also ur pretty!

[twinkylovable]

Ty for ur story :-)