Dionne’s Story
Dionne’s son Ffredi was born with a unilateral cleft lip and palate. She shared their journey with us and the challenges they faced along the way.
Ffredi was born with a complete unilateral cleft lip & palate. He was diagnosed with a cleft lip at my 20-week anomaly scan but could not have a definite diagnosis of a cleft palate until he was born due to not being able to see inside the mouth on scans.
We had no idea what Ffredi would look like when he was born, as although I was offered a 4D scan to see his face and cleft, I caught covid and could not attend.
When Ffredi was born, he was also diagnosed with a cleft palate and partial hearing loss in his left ear due to the cleft palate, but hopefully, his hearing will function as normal once he has his palate repaired.
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t heartbroken and very anxious when we had the diagnosis. For the last 20 weeks of my pregnancy, I stressed what Ffredi would look like, what people would think, whether he would be an unhappy baby, whether he would thrive or would not be able to hit milestones, and so on.
But I’d also be lying if I said that I didn’t fall in love with him and his cleft the minute he was put in my arms. I absolutely love showing off his cleft; it’s the best smile I’ve ever seen and the 1st smile me & my fiancé fell in love with.
I want to raise awareness and share Ffredi’s story. Not only to show my perfect baby off (because we’re proud parents) but also so other parents that have just had the diagnosis will know that these little cleft cuties are amazing. They are so resilient and will shock you daily with how strong they are & there is nothing to be anxious about.
Ffredi is no different from any other baby; the only difference is we were blessed with two very different but amazing and perfect smiles.
Ffredi is no different from any other baby; the only difference is we were blessed with two very different but amazing and perfect smiles.
I will forever miss his beautiful, cleft smile, and although this wasn’t the journey we chose to be on, he keeps smashing every obstacle put in his way!
We are now waiting for his 2nd operation. He’s our little superhuman who constantly has a huge smile on his face!
Thank you to Dionne, for sharing your story!
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