Natasha’s Story
Natasha’s son was born with a bilateral cleft lip and palate, and she shared Miguel’s journey so far from surgery to speech therapy.
Miguel was born in 2018, and his cleft was a massive surprise. His cleft was diagnosed at birth and was a massive shock to the system at the time. We all knew very little about cleft and how it affects a person.
He was born with a bilateral cleft lip and palate, and during the first few days, we were trying to navigate life as new parents and juggling this new diagnosis.
Miguel was born with a bilateral cleft lip and palate, and during the first few days, we were trying to navigate life as new parents and juggling this new diagnosis.
We had so many questions about how it would impact his life and how many surgeries he would go through. We have a brilliant team behind us, and we met with his surgeon when he was a few days old.
He explained every detail of his diagnosis and the surgeries he would need. His first surgery was at three months old, and that was a lip adhesion; his second was at a year old, and that was a lip revision and partial palate repair.
His most recent surgery was in February 2020, and he was two years old. Surgery time is always daunting, but he has flown through it every time.
Upon diagnosis, we were so worried about his speech and communication skills. He is now three and can talk like any other three-year-old. He attends regular speech therapy, and we carry out exercises at home to help boost his speech. Miguel has come so far in this journey, and as parents, we have changed.
We’ve learned about cleft, and we are more patient. We appreciate the little achievements our child makes. Cleft children are the strongest children ever, they make a remarkable recovery, and the progress we’ve seen our son make in three years is astounding.
Our journey has just started with our little man, but we are excited to watch him grow and progress more!
Thank you to Natasha for sharing your story!
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