Move over, Big Mia The whole world thrilled watching the fancy footwork of Mia Hamm as she,Brandi Chastain and others won gold for the American Women's Soccer team in the 1996 Summer Olympics held in the U.S. However, Big Mia (real name Mariel Margaret) may soon have to share the limelight with two other Mia's. Tiny Mia with a Cleft Lip One of them, a tiny Chihuahua named Mia, was born with a cleft lip and palate. Veterinarians wanted to put Mia down, … [Read more...]
Did cleft lip afflicted kid ever attain normalcy?
Is Karl, the "Cleft Lip Wonder," normal? Don't snicker. Bay Area journalist Cathy Dausman wrote the following after interviewing me during a book talk. Spoiler Alert: read Cleft Heart and then return to this article if you don't want your reading experience compromised. '[Is Karl Schonborn normal? Schonborn - debater, visual artist, professor, husband, father and author of the newly published memoir, "Cleft Heart: Chasing Normal" - has journeyed far from the scarred school boy with a … [Read more...]
Bullied cleft lip teen and others undergo plastic surgery
Dr. Thomas Romo's Little Baby Face Foundation provides free plastic surgery to low-income children with facial deformities. This video shows the foundation at work, highlighting four recent applicants to the Foundation. Dr. Romo's team considered fixing Conner's cleft lip and large nose, Renata's large nose, Donovan's small chin, and Cheyenne's deformed eyelids. Bullied cleft lip high schooler gets surgery. | Plastic surgery offered to low socio-economic bullied teens The 'Second … [Read more...]
Lookism runs wild —-celeb cosmetic dentistry
After some serious blogs about caregiving, these before and after celeb photos bring smiles to our faces. What is it about Before and Afters anyway? Still, facial differentness affects celebs as well as you and me. This website has "facial difference" as one of its subthemes, though the phrase is usually used with regard to oralfacial deformities. I've excerpted a few "examples" from a recent article written in a jaunty, but somewhat passive-aggressive style. If you need a stronger fix, … [Read more...]
Caregiving a cleft and an Alzheimers patient — II.
ALS, Cleft, and Alzheimers caregiving. Of late, I've begun to think of some of the issues of caregiving because my sister-in-law was recently diagnosed with ALS, Lou Gehrig's disease. This disorder causes muscle weakness and atrophy throughout the body due to the degeneration of motor neurons. Her partner has already begun to perform the classic tasks whereby a caregiver: Takes care of household chores, meals, or bills for someone who cannot do these things alone Manages medications … [Read more...]
Caregiving a cleft kid and an Alzheimers patient – I
Caregiving a cleft. My mother's caregiving consisted of intense involvement with me during the first three years of my life and then further intense involvement during my preschool and elementary years when my unclear speech and susceptibility to bullies needing addressing. She then had a respite punctuated by caregiving around other special needs I had --more surgeries, orthodonture, a bad heart diagnosis. All this extra care was on top of the normal caregiving a stay-at-home mom in the … [Read more...]
Cleft lip caretaker and extraordinary woman.
Tomorrow, March 31, will be the anniversary of Laura Schonborn's death. To honor her, I'm posting a few remarks and two paintings I did of her. A heroine of mine. A heroine is a woman who is admired for, among other things, her fine qualities. Laura's qualities included being a selfless caregiver. During most of my early life, Laura put my needs--and those of her other two children--before hers time after time. Caretaker extraordinaire. At her memorial service Reverend Danford Lion … [Read more...]