Meet Cecilia
Each year it is estimated that one in every eight hundred babies is born with a facial cleft, ranging in severity from a split lip to a grossly bisected face and palate that makes life impossibly difficult. Depending on the severity of the cleft lip or palate, some of the complications include trouble breathing, difficulty eating, ear infections and hearing loss.
Cecilia was one of those babies. Born with a unilateral cleft lip and palate, Cecilia was fed through a special bottle as a baby to accommodate the hole between her nose and her mouth. “I am almost unrecognisable as a baby…I am so grateful for having the parents I have, they sought the best care for me.” – Cecilia
Without surgery and the appropriate treatment, people with facial deformities will experience hardships in life that most of us can only imagine. They can struggle to communicate and sometimes feel displaced from society. However, thanks to a multi-disciplinary approach to craniofacial care, Cecilia received life-changing craniofacial surgery that has transformed her life.
The experience also changed her career path and influenced her decision to become a nurse. “I was so grateful to all the staff who looked after me and the care I received, and that is where I picked up my love for nursing.”
Cecilia had her first surgery when she was just a few months old and had two follow up surgeries. Today at the age of 21 Cecilia has an infectious smile that lights up a room. It’s hard to imagine that Cecilia was not born with her beaming smile, although it wasn’t always that way. Cecilia looks back and acknowledges that there were some difficult times in primary school and that kids could often be mean. Thankfully she had a close network to support her. “I was lucky because my parents were so supportive and everyone around me was great. They gave me the tools at a young age to be confident and to not care what other people think and ignore any negativity.”
From a young age Cecilia’s mum would show her pictures of other kids with craniofacial differences and the transformations they had gone through. “It was a good visualisation of how important an organisation like you guys can be to someone’s life.” Cecilia is now the face of Craniofacial Australia’s Embrace Your Face campaign, because she wants to help kids who might be struggling with their identity. “I’ve seen photos of me before surgery when I couldn’t smile and I wanted to continue to provide expecting parents and young kids with a good story to hold on to, to show them what is possible.”
