The Summerland Advocate-Messenger - Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community

My son is one of the many Americans with cleft lip and palate. The specifics of each affected individual’s situation vary, but one thing they have in common is that they will be having surgery. Lots of surgery. Although most individuals with orofacial clefts, including my son, are otherwise healthy and lead normal lives, the process of restoring a normal smile, normal speech, normal chewing, involves many steps from birth into adulthood.

Most of his surgeries have blurred together in my mind, however, his first bone graft remains starkly vivid.

In this surgery, bone is removed from the hi...