next phase of Elie's treatment.... i need your help
While she was in the treatment area of the office, the other kids and I waited in the front lobby. The big kids were home from school on a snow day. It was the perfect moment to explain to all of them this next phase of Elie's treatment. She was going to have a new contraption on her face and I needed their support to help her through this season.
She was born with a cleft palate. This means that she had a huge hole in the roof of her mouth. At the age of three, she had surgery to fix her palate in China. We have had so many compliments on the quality of her surgery that I am sure a generous American doctor performed the surgery. It is very common for children to need more than one surgery. However we would like to avoid that if at all possible. One of the ways we are doing that is speech therapy and the other is what brought us to the orthodontist office this morning.
I held my breath as she walked back into the waiting room and prayed. The other kids immediately greeted her with "wow that's so cool" and "you look like a superhero". I fought the tears of joy as I watched them help ease the embarrassment their sister was experiencing. They don't always get it but in this moment they really were working together as a team.
She needs to wear this apparatus as much as possible to get the maxium benefit. And as much as I absolutely hate making her do it, we need the maximum benefit. I regularly remind her of the why to help motivate her but also to remind myself. As a mama you want more than anything to protect your child from hurt and ridicule. Making her wear this thing in public takes a strong act of my will.
So the next time you see us out and about, chances are she will have this on. And here is my request...
Talk to you kids about it before you see us so they can ask questions and you can prompt them on ways to encourage her
Tell her she is amazing
Tell her you are proud of her
Tell her she looks beautiful
This mama thanks you for your support and being a part of our team. Also if you would like to help other kids around the world with life changing cleft palate surgery, check out Smile Train. Awesome organization doing amazing things for kids just like our Elie.
She was born with a cleft palate. This means that she had a huge hole in the roof of her mouth. At the age of three, she had surgery to fix her palate in China. We have had so many compliments on the quality of her surgery that I am sure a generous American doctor performed the surgery. It is very common for children to need more than one surgery. However we would like to avoid that if at all possible. One of the ways we are doing that is speech therapy and the other is what brought us to the orthodontist office this morning.
I held my breath as she walked back into the waiting room and prayed. The other kids immediately greeted her with "wow that's so cool" and "you look like a superhero". I fought the tears of joy as I watched them help ease the embarrassment their sister was experiencing. They don't always get it but in this moment they really were working together as a team.
She needs to wear this apparatus as much as possible to get the maxium benefit. And as much as I absolutely hate making her do it, we need the maximum benefit. I regularly remind her of the why to help motivate her but also to remind myself. As a mama you want more than anything to protect your child from hurt and ridicule. Making her wear this thing in public takes a strong act of my will.
So the next time you see us out and about, chances are she will have this on. And here is my request...
Talk to you kids about it before you see us so they can ask questions and you can prompt them on ways to encourage her
Tell her she is amazing
Tell her you are proud of her
Tell her she looks beautiful
This mama thanks you for your support and being a part of our team. Also if you would like to help other kids around the world with life changing cleft palate surgery, check out Smile Train. Awesome organization doing amazing things for kids just like our Elie.
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