Maimun: Today a Cleft Patient, Tomorrow a Doctor

Muslima was shocked when Maimun, her second child, was born with a cleft.

She had undergone two ultrasounds — and both failed to detect his cleft. No one else in her family had ever had one.

“It was a nightmare,” she recalled.  

The hospital staff quickly stepped in to soothe her stress. They assured her and her husband, Golam Jilani Mon, that cleft treatment existed and was widely available.  

Unfortunately, they added, their local hospital in southern Bangladesh only provided such care during short-term campaigns, none of which were running at that time.  

But Maimun couldn’t wait. He choked every time Muslima tried to nurse him because her milk went into his nose instead of down his throat. She didn’t know how he would ever eat. He needed care now. 

The hospital staff recommended visiting Dr. Tarikul Islam at Nargis Memorial Hospital in Khulna, a four-hour drive away. Muslima soon discovered she had a personal connection to Dr. Tarikul: He and her brother-in-law were friends, and she quickly obtained his information.

Learning that all of Maimun’s cleft care would be completely free — because Dr. Tarikul was a Smile Train partner — was like a dream come true for Muslima. Together at the hospital, the doctor showed her multiple ways to feed her son so he would get proper nutrition, first with a dropper and then with a spoon. Both proved invaluable.

“In my lap, I had to maintain a certain angle for feeding him,” she recalled in a conversation with Smile Train. “Yes, it takes time and a lot of patience, but I did it all myself.”

When Maimun turned six months, Muslima took him in for cleft surgery with Dr. Tarikul. “The full family accompanied me, but only a mother knows how difficult it is to see her baby taken into the operating room, not knowing whether the surgery will work or not. I can’t even express the feeling properly,” she said.

When Maimun reemerged, Muslima’s apprehension turned to joy: His procedure was a complete success! 

Today, Maimun is a bright, studious eight-year-old. He knows he needs to study hard to achieve his dream of becoming a doctor.  

“We will support him in whatever he wants to be or chooses to be,” Muslima said. 

Outside of school, Maimun loves playing soccer and board games with his friends, as well as with his sister, even if they sometimes get into a friendly tiff. “It’s quite like a Tom and Jerry relation between them,” Muslima joked. She would not reveal which one is Tom and which is Jerry.

“I am very grateful to Smile Train,” she reflected. “Without them, it would not have been possible to get Maimun treatment.”