Feb 3rd marks the Chinese New Year, aka year of the rabbit which is my sign. I’m predicting that this year will be super lucky for bunnies, which are already supposed to be lucky.
I started out the day by observing cleft lip and palate surgeries. It was completely intriguing seeing the children pre-op, then operated on, stitched up, and sutured post-op. Of course a strong stomach and high tolerance of blood and scalpeling is required to witness such an event. Like so many people at Op Smile recommend, I really want to follow a child from the screening process, surgery room, and post-op. Shadowing the surgeons showed me how complex some of the clefting could be leaving large gaping holes in faces or inside the upper palate of the mouth while impeding speech and causing food matter to fall out when eating.
My second role of the day was to help develop a speech index survey which consisted of working with Alex, the head plastic surgeon, and a speech pathologist. We included questions such as demographics, being made fun of at school (and possibly leaving school as a result), discrimination in jobs, inability to eat/drink properly, and difficulty speaking. I learned that people with cleft lips are often discriminated against due to the cosmetic deterrent but their speech is often fine. Those with cleft palates may have a normal lip and face but are unable to speak and communicate. The unfortunate people with both inherit both issues. It was humbling seeing a 30 yr old woman and a 35 yr old man in a speech therapy session. They had severe cleft lips causing large gaping holes in their mouths and rotting teeth that were constantly exposed. It is apparent that their extremely shy and hidden personality is the result of a lifelong shun from mainstream society. One 17 year old boy dropped out a long time ago in elementary school due to the teasing from other children. It is amazing how one surgery, usually lasting between 20-60 minutes, that is funded by donors can transform someone from being an outcast to having a meaningful quality of life.
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