Recent Pictures of Peach

Peach and Bob, the pony she adores

Our lovely little girl in grade one.

A new blossom in the orchard; a new bud on the family tree.
Big Brother thinks she's a Peach. Mom and Dad think she's pretty sweet, too.
One day old in this picture.

Eight days old, and feeling pretty comfy.
She stayed in hospital for her first week, looked after by the best nurses in the world.

Thank goodness for Grandmas.
Peach loved her MJ squeezy bottle and Grandma loved feeding her.
There's DQ gold in that bottle!

Three weeks old, alert and taking in her world.
The tape on her face is to keep the soft tissue cleft together in preparation for surgery.
We used 3M Microspore which didn't irritate the skin.

Getting acquainted with big brother.

Three months old, just prior to soft tissue surgery.

Just a few days post-op, and one of her first real smiles. She's a keeper!

Another picture taken after soft tissue surgery.

Yes, I worry about her future, her challenges, her resilience and her pain.
But in the quiet night, when I hold her soft and warm against me, her breath deep and even as she sleeps on my shoulder,
for those few moments, all that matters is that she is mine, my baby, my own.

Treatment history:
Age 10 days: Fitted with an obturator -- a small acrylic plate molded to fit her palate. This baby-sized 'retainer' had two jobs: it helped keep food/formula from getting into her palatal cleft; and it helped support the palatal arch -- keeping the cleft together in preparation for surgery. As teeth erupted, the obturator was filed down to allow for the tooth. At about six months of age, she was fitted for a new, larger obturator, having outgrown the first one.

Age 3 weeks: The opthalmologist inserted thin filaments into her left upper eyelid, to pull it up a bit so as not to block her vision. This was her first general anesthetic. She weighed about 7 lbs.

Age 3-1/2 months: Soft tissue repair, about three hours surgical time. She weighed 4.6 kg or just over 10 lbs.

Age 5 months: Strabismus (eye muscle) repair and initial work on the notch (coloboma) in her left upper eyelid. Weight 6.25 kg or nearly 14 lbs.

Age 10 months: Palate repair (Furrlow technique) and insertion of pressure equalizing tubes in ears, two hours surgical time. Weight 8.18 kg or 18 lbs.

Age 33 months: Extraction of tooth which had erupted at the cleft and several fillings, all done under a general anesthetic

Age 3 years, 8 months: Second set of PE tubes inserted

Age 4 years: Orbital osteotomy. This procedure is described in detail on Peach's surgery page; 10 hours of surgical time, 2 nights in ICU and one night on the ward, then discharged to her family's loving care.

Other treatments and therapies: Peach has had three or four ear infections and the usual number of childhood colds. Her speech and hearing are tested annually and and both are on target. She has no problems with articulation, vocabulary and has never required any therapy. Her hearing is just fine, however somewhat selective -- a typical four year old!

She has worn glasses since she was seven months old, and has had patching of the right eye for two years. She still needs the patch, but fights against it with vigor.

Prior to her soft tissue repair, we used Duratears ointment to keep the eyeball (called the globe) lubricated, and at night, we taped a small "window" of saran wrap over the eye, using the microspore tape. This was to protect the globe during the night when she was not likely to be blinking and causing tears to keep it moist.