Jefferson and Jeffrey: Brothers with Clefts

Both of Desiree and Jeffrey’s sons were unexpectedly born with clefts. Below, Desiree recounts her path to finding them the cleft treatment they needed.

In the days and weeks after my son Jefferson was born with a cleft, I was deeply scared that he would not survive. He was already a small baby, and because of his cleft, I had such difficulty feeding him that it made me cry.

When we brought him home, some people in our community said unkind things about his face. I even heard it from my own brother — I told him that he should be protecting Jefferson from judgement, not adding on.

We were able to find Jefferson cleft lip surgery, but it was expensive. On top of that, he still needed surgery on his palate.

Then one day, I heard about Smile Train on the radio. The announcer said they sponsored cleft treatment 100% free of charge through their local partner, Bicol Medical Center. I immediately went to find out if we qualified — and we did!

Jefferson successfully had cleft palate surgery when he was one year old. Seeing his smile, my neighbors and family started to treat us better. From then on, they really took good care of him.

Meanwhile, our family kept growing. We welcomed a daughter, who does not have a cleft.

During my third pregnancy, the ultrasound showed a healthy baby. However, when Jeffrey, Jr. was born, he had a cleft. The ultrasound was not 3D and had failed to spot it.

Fortunately, we knew what to do: call Smile Train. Jeffrey received cleft lip surgery when he was around six months old.

Today, Jefferson and Jeffrey are my two smiling, happy little boys. Jefferson always helps with chores around the house and he loves watering the plants with me. He’s also about to start school! He’s really excited to meet a lot of new playmates. For both my boys, I dream of them completing their education one day.

I’m very thankful for Smile Train, their local partners, and the doctors and medical teams who helped us with our cleft care.

I had tough days as a cleft mom. For any other parents facing a similar situation, my advice is to be brave. With the right care, things will get better!