Lucia’s Story: Share A Smile
“My name is Lucia, I am 23 years old and I have a unilateral cleft lip as well as a cleft palate.”
“I was diagnosed with cleft lip and palate at my mums 20-week scan. I’ve lost count of the amount of different surgeries I’ve had from my cleft lip repair, palate repairs to bone graphs. But I talk about every single one of them with pride as well as wear my scar with pride.
I suffered intense bullying growing up to the point I was extremely self-conscious of my scar, and especially my nose. I would always tilt my face so you could only see one side of it on photos (the side without the scars) and would very rarely, before getting my braces, smile with my mouth open.
The comments I would get in school ranged from referring to me as a pig to someone actually asking me if I could cover up my lip as it was putting them off their food. Those type of comments and lack of awareness are the reasons as to why I want to spread awareness on cleft lip.
I also want to help spread awareness of the amazing team at CLAPA so no child should ever have to face such cruelty and can wear their smile with pride the way I now can.
I also want to help spread awareness of the amazing team at CLAPA so no child should ever have to face such cruelty and can wear their smile with pride the way I now can.
The hardships of cleft lip and palate are massively overlooked by people with little knowledge on it. Ranging from surgeries, dental work, check-ups, speech therapy and the list goes on!
I am still, at the age of 23, dealing with ongoing issues from mine such as hearing loss, breathing, dental problems and still the odd issue with my appearance but the more issues are thrown my way the more resilient I become, to the point I tell my story with pride and I always will.
I will forever be grateful for the support from my cleft team at Manchester Royal Children’s Hospital, CLAPA and my family and friends.
I hope my story can inspire others.”
Thank you to Lucia for sharing her story with us.
Would you like to share your story with the CLAPA Community? We’d love to hear from you, wherever you are on your journey.
