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Bill's Story
Hello, my name is Bill I'm 42 and was born with a cleft palate/ lip and other birth defects . I was glad to have found this Web Site since as an adult I have many unanswered questions and issues regarding my condition.
I was born in 1955 in Denver, Co. I had surgery at 9 mos. to close the palate and lip after that frequent visits to the hospital for operations for ear tubes, emergency room visits for croup, weekly visits to Dr. for allergy shots and weekly speech therapy sessions. Following the surgery for the palate and lip no more surgery was performed until I was 11 for plastic surgery on my nose . At 19 at my own request I had the scar on my lip repaired . I also had braces from the time I was 12 until I turned 18. As a child growing up with this deformity I was pretty well adjusted until attending school where I was teased by classmates because of my apperance. The result was a poor self image that to this day still continues to haunt me.
The emotional effect of being a cleft palate child was never addressed by my parents and I wonder if any others have similar stories. Dont get me wrong my life now is good I am married (18 yrs.) have 2 kids aged 16 and 10 neither of whom have birth defects, I have a good job own a nice home,but I always wonder if my life would have been better had I not been born this way.