Yesterday I came across a Facebook post about clefts, written by Lisa Wyzlic, founder of
A Cleft Mommy’s Bond of Friendship, an international support group for cleft families, which touched me so much that I’ve chosen to post it in full (with Lisa’s kind permission) to my blog this week.  
As it turns out, life begins with a cleft….

 

“Did you know? 

Every single one of us starts out with a cleft! Yes, that’s correct, all of us! A cleft is defined as a hole or indention in any part of the body. During 5 – 8 weeks gestation, the skull is being formed. It begins from the back of the head and wraps around with the nose and mouth closing last. It is when this closure doesn’t come together that a cleft is formed. 

A cleft can occur in the brain, eye, on the fingers and toes, your buttocks which is referred to as a sacral dimple, chin, face known as a tessier cleft or anywhere else! Those dimples you might have? A cleft too!!

Some clefts need little to no repair or work done while other types such as tessier, lip, palate, nose, eye will need many surgeries and therapies. A variation of all or some of these clefts can happen and makes each child born with a cleft unique and beautiful! 

A child born with a cleft has the most beautiful smile, the brightest of eyes, the biggest of hearts and the strength of a lion! A child born with a cleft faces many hurdles and needs love and support not judgment and ridicule. Questions are welcome, rude comments and staring is not! Raising awareness to cleft families is important and we love educating others so just ask!”

Written with love by:
Lisa Wyzlic
A Cleft Mommy’s Bond of Friendship Founder

As my family gathered in a posh London hotel to celebrate my father’s 70th birthday on Tuesday, several bombs detonated in Brussels, killing more than 30 people and wounding hundreds. Islamic State (IS) soon claimed responsibility for the attacks.

It took a while for me to absorb the devastating news from Brussels, but when I did, I felt strongly, the need for understanding, compassion and forgiveness. Continue reading →

“It’s not fair!” is a phrase I hear all too often at home, my young daughters being acutely sensitive to what is and isn’t fair.

‘The world isn’t a fair place, so get used to it,” I bark at them when I’ve had enough of their bickering.

“Well, that’s not right,” they respond in unison. At least, they agree on something. Continue reading →

Visit the self-help section of any bookstore and you’re bound to come across lots of literature on how to ‘curb,’ ‘manage,’ ‘overcome’ or ‘beat’ your anger.

Anger, the message goes, is something bad that should be eliminated. I vehemently disagree. For I know that without a healthy dose of anger, I wouldn’t be where I am today. Continue reading →

I’d planned to continue my personal crusade in support of the NHS this week, but a silly accident at home has left me too bruised and shook up to write at any length.

Feeling peckish around mid-morning, I went into the kitchen to look for something satisfyingly unhealthy to snack on. I stood on our brand new kitchen stool to reach the top shelf in the kitchen cupboard where we keep the snacks we don’t want the kids to find.

As I prepared to climb down, the lower step just gave way and I came crashing down on the tiled floor.

My husband was there and screamed out loud in horror (he won’t be too pleased to know I’m writing this) at the sight of me falling helplessly down.

Luckily, I didn’t break any bones but I’m terribly bruised and my body aches as if I had just ran a marathon. So I’ll be taking it easy for the rest of the day.

Lesson learned: don’t judge a kitchen stool by its looks!

The sturdy yet unsightly stool the previous residents left behind served us perfectly well as a kitchen step. The pretty Scandinavian-style stool we replaced it with, however, proved useless.