“Tyler was born in 2002 with a bilateral cleft lip & cleft palate. We didn’t know there was an issue until he was born! He was our first child. Besides the cleft, Tyler was perfectly healthy. “He was taken to … Read More
Slayton’s First Year
“My son Slayton was born with a unilateral cleft lip and cleft palate. He was born missing his hard palate. He is now one and has been through both of his surgeries to correct his cleft lip and palate, but … Read More
Izzi’s Journey to the Stage
“My daughter is a stunningly beautiful dancer. At a recent dance recital, I watched in awe as her long limbs stretched and danced with such skill and grace across the stage. 14 years ago, I gazed down at this beautiful … Read More
Sarah’s Smile
This story is about an experience with my cleft lip and palate has been an important story in so many ways. I shared this story at two motivational speaking platforms when I lived in Shanghai, China. I also took some … Read More
Lifting Up Faizan’s Voice
Faizan Sheikh has Trisomy 18 which is known as Edwards syndrome, but Faizan’s condition is a bit rarer. Instead of having an extra chromosome 18 in all of his cells, he has them in only some of his cells, which … Read More
Payton, Our Miracle Baby
Payton was born in 2013. She was our miracle baby! When I was 29 years old and four weeks pregnant with our first child, I was diagnosed with stage 1 breast cancer. During this time, there wasn’t a lot of … Read More
Mia’s Story
Mia was born with a unilateral cleft lip and palate in 2016. She is a bundle of energy and can spend hours drawing, coloring, painting, but most of all she loves gymnastics. Many people believe that kids like Mia only … Read More
Continuing to Shine Despite Obstacles
Vilija was diagnosed with a cleft lip and palate at 19 weeks gestation. She is now 19 years old and has undergone 10 surgeries with her most recent in 2015. She is currently preparing to undergo one final procedure—a rhinoplasty, … Read More
Bobby’s Story
Bobby was born five weeks early, and to our surprise, he was born with a cleft lip and palate. We were immediately transferred to the NICU at Hasbro Children’s Hospital to get the extra care he needed. Bobby stayed in … Read More
Mother Inspired to Help Other Children
My husband Kyle and I were delighted when we learned we were pregnant with our first child. At the time, I was a registered nurse working in the pediatric emergency department and I had just enrolled in school to become … Read More