I was 2 when I started seeing a orthodontist. He was just starting his practice and i was a education for him. He only charged us for parts and not labor. When I started school I think it was the 2nd grade when the teasing started. I had speech therapy 2 or 3 times a week so just getting out of class made me "different" from the other kids. I learned early on to play by myself and I believe its then that my sense of humor started to develop. There was never a question of NOT going to school...it just wasn't an option. And back then, kids (at least me) didn't grab a gun and take it to school to deal with bully's. Kids had fights if they had a problem with each other. I was raised not to fight and was told that if I got hit in the face it could undo all the surgeries that I had. If I told my Mom about being teased, she always said just ignore them, it will hurt them more than it does you. That's not true.     

When I was born, it was 1955. I had a double cleft palette and a hair lip. I know my first surgeries happened around 2 months of age. They got my front two teeth and gum off the end of my nose and back into my mouth. Like most cleft palettes, I never "nursed" on a bottle. I was fed with a spoon. My plastic surgeon was Dr. McCumber in Denver Colorado and I had my early operations at Children's Hospital in Denver. I still remember the smell of ether, the green color of the tiles on the walls, the net over the top of the crib (I liked to climb out when I got older) and the pieces of yard sticks that were used as splits to keep my hands away from my face where the stitches were. I know back then, parents were not allowed to visit children in the hospital so nurses and doctors were the people that were helping to form my early memories. Then, like now, when I look out from my eyes, I don't see anything wrong. I don't think I sound different than other people either, unless I hear myself on a recording. We moved to Colorado Springs when I was about 3 months old, so when I had surgeries, we stayed at my Grandparents house in Denver. I don't remember any friends before I started school, but that might just be cause I'm older now. I will say now, my parents did everything they could to make sure I was physically fine. In the 50's there wasn't much attention payed to the mental part of a person.         

Welcome to my blog. This is about growing up with a double cleft palate and hair lip. I writing this as a way of helping me. I have lived with this for 57 years and for most of that time it has shaped my life and actions. I hope to understand why with this blog. I will be as honest as I can here. I will NOT be derogatory to people by name nor will I pull any punches. These are my true feelings about how my life has been, and how I feel its been affected by the way I was born. I will start with my earliest memories and work my way to adulthood and to the present. I welcome comments but if your just going to tease, harass, condemn or be hateful toward me, don't bother. Ive had that all my life and I don't need it here. I will try to post here once a week or more depending on my time and feelings. The pictures I will post are me. The childhood pictures I didn't know existed until I was 21 or so.
Thank You