Linsey Smart and family completed the Aberdeen Kiltwalk raising £1,500 for CLAPA
Linsey Smart and family completed the Aberdeen Kiltwalk on the 4th of June, raising £1,500 so far in honor of Theo. She shares their journey and what inspired them to fundraise for CLAPA.
On my 12-week pregnancy scan, Graham and I discovered we were expecting twins!
Completely shocked and taken aback, we waited for our 20-week scan, and it was then that we found out twin one possibly had a cleft; no one was entirely sure as both twins were breached and had hands up at faces. We had weekly scans and were no further forward.
So we started to prepare; CLAPA provided us with all the information and support throughout my pregnancy and prepared us for the unknown of our birth.
We attended CLAPA webinars and read the leaflets provided. In March 2022, our twins were born via section, and sure enough, one of our boys (Theo) was born with a bilateral cleft lip and palate.
Unfortunately, he was taken to NICU immediately as he had trouble clearing his airways; however, 24hrs in NICU, we got moved to special care.
He was smashing it! By day three, he had ripped his feeding tube out and was solely feeding from Dr brown bottles! Day six, we were home!
Our little fighter was absolutely smashing it! Nothing was holding him back. He had his first operation and six months and was fully weaned baby lead and eating everything in sight!
At 13 months, his second op was completed, and check-ups were successful! The support via the cleft nurses, the CLAPA meet and greets, webinars, shop, etc., made our lives so much easier, and we didn’t need to second guess anything.
We know we still have a long journey ahead; however, due to an amazing first year, we decided to do something back to help families in similar circumstances.
We completed the Aberdeen 18-mile Kiltwalk to raise awareness and support for CLAPA. The day was amazing; the atmosphere was great, as everyone was cheering each other on. Emotions were running high, but we all knew why we were there, and it kept us pushing thru!
And to top it all off, Theo came to the event and decided to take his first steps that day, tearing my emotions apart!
For anyone thinking of doing anything big or small, all I can say is do it! You’ll feel every emotion possible, but it is 100% worth it. We can’t wait to do it next year, and hopefully, once he’s old enough, we will get Theo involved too!
Thank you so much, Linsey and team. If you want to raise money for CLAPA, visit our fundraising page and find your next challenge!
