Cleft lip kids discuss the darnedest things. Ever discussed with a group of friends whether you'd give up a year of your life for a more perfect, symmetrical face? Unless you were born with a cleft lip,* you probably haven't. For non-clefts, such a discussion may be akin to those silly debates over whether you'd rather burn to death or freeze to death. Still, the question does bring up our assumptions about perfection and symmetry as they relate to beauty. We often think that we have a best … [Read more...]
Report from the Cleft Lip front lines——II
More pictures from my recent East Coast book tour for Cleft Heart. At signings, I always hear about others who've felt like outsiders or had to face serious obstacles in their lives. Cleft affected people and their loved ones frequently show up. One book event occurred in the building pivotal to a major plot twist in Cleft Heart. The repurposed building is where Malcolm X was shot. It's across the street from The Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital where doctors treat kids with … [Read more...]
Report from the Cleft Lip front lines——I
The East Coast Cleft Heart tour, aka The Cleft Lip Tour. Been away lately doing book events—something politicians call stumping or out on the hustings. Some people call it show and tell. It's been very rewarding, meeting new friends and old ones as well on the East Coast. Yale, New … [Read more...]
Celebs with cleft lip & other birth defects—II.
Here are six celebs born with less impactful birth defects than those noted in my prior blog (which included Joaquin Phoenix). Again, thanks to Listverse.com and Madamenoire.com for doing the legwork. FOREST WHITAKER, LAZY EYE When asked about his famous lazy left eye, Forest admits that he inherited the condition from his father. He has considered having it fixed but only because it affects his vision. Some birth defects are mild, even intriguing. Here's another eye "deformity," … [Read more...]
Fathers of cleft lip kids need support.
Help dads of cleft kids be heros. I've suggested in prior blogs and in my book, Cleft Heart , that mothers of cleft kids are heroic, and being heroines they often get support and praise. But what about fathers? Luckily a recent study of fathers of cleft kids addresses these issues. The following report is from the medical headline/news service. Research psychologist Nicola Stock says fathers need better support to enable them to deal with the challenges of having a child born with … [Read more...]
Think cleft lip kids have problems, baby can’t open-mouth
Look what "Yahoo Shine" has to report. Here's the story, based on reporting by the Canadian Broadcast Corporation, Ottawa Citizen, and Newser.com" Baby can't open mouth. "Nine months ago, a Canadian baby was born normal in every way but one: Wyatt Scott has a disorder that keeps him from opening his jaw, the CBC reports. The condition, called congenital trismus, is so rare that his Ottawa doctors still aren't sure how to help him. "Nobody can tell us if Wyatt is going to be better in two … [Read more...]
Cleft lip superstitions, Surgeries.
"Cleft beliefs and surgeries—Then and now," a Guest blog by journalist Jenni Perez Karl Schonborn, the author of “Cleft Heart Chasing Normal,” is not the only person to social stigma due to a cleft. This is because cleft lips are fairly common birth defects, affecting more than 1 in 600 children worldwide (National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research). The first documented cleft lip surgery was in China around 390 BC on 18 year old Wey Young-Chi, who would later become a … [Read more...]