Today, my daughter is 20 months old. Four days ago, was exactly two years since we found out about the cleft lip and palate. In the past few weeks, I’ve been thinking a lot about that time, and the time that has passed since.
On December 8, 2016 we found out that Isabella would have a cleft lip and palate. As expected, emotions ran high, thoughts were all over the place, but if we are truthful with ourselves, we were still beyond excited that we were finally pregnant. It took so long. There were so many tears leading up to that positive pregnancy test that no matter the news, in the end, we would be fine.
I swear she’s going to be a cheerleader.
Looking back over the last two years, there are still times that I think about it and feel that it’s “unfair” but in the end, I keep coming back to one thing. My purpose. In the past two years, not only have we become a family, we’ve become advocates, teachers, and best of all, a part of the LCPC family. Thanks to the amazing people that we are connected with on social media, my last birthday raised several hundred dollars for LCPC. When my grandfather recently passed away, my grandmother and the family decided that LCPC should be the direction that anyone who felt the need to send flowers should instead send their money. It’s beyond just us as a couple and as a family. It’s extended far beyond my wildest imagination and has become simple a part of who we are.
As an example, Erin and I have both connected with people both from within the LCPC Parent Network and other outside networks in order to help shine a light from a parent who understands what they may be feeling. It’s happened more times than I can count now.
Thinking back on the emotions of two years ago, I was sad, confused, upset, angry, but most of all, still ready to push forward and meet my daughter.
Now, two years later, I understand why I was feeling those things, but I can tell you this, whether you’ve met Isabella or not, that cleft is playing 0% of a role in her life. Ok fine…maybe like 1%, but on 99% of days we don’t even think about it now. When we met with everyone at LCPC they told us that, with time, we wouldn’t be thinking about the cleft daily, but that at the beginning you felt like it would always be the first thing you thought about.
This post is probably a lot of rambling and repeating, but let me say this to wrap up my thoughts on two years later.
In the beginning, finding out that anything isn’t “perfect” with your child is extremely difficult and takes a lot of out of you. After they are born, you have good days and bad days. In time, the good days far outnumber the bad. And, at least for me right now, there are far more days that I completely forget that she has any type of cleft issue. Isabella is a sassy little 20 month old that is going on 15 years old. Her personality is huge and somehow, at less than 2 years old, she can walk into a room and command it’s attention immediately. It doesn’t matter if it’s a small room of people she knows, or a huge room full of strangers, she is always in control of the room, and I love her all the more for it.
And now…PICTURES!
Our Family Journey 