Many poor children unfortunately born with a cleft lip or palate have been provided life-changing surgeries for bright and beautiful smiles thanks to much support and concern from the community...
Many poor children unfortunately born with a cleft lip or palate have been provided life-changing surgeries for bright and beautiful smiles thanks to much support and concern from the community.
Depression
Tran Bao Sa was born with a cleft lip in 2009 in Vinh Truong Ward, Nha Trang City. Her mom Le Bao Suong says, “We used to think of abortion when the fetus was diagnosed with a cleft clip but the doctor said cleft lip could be repaired, so we decided to keep the baby.”
The couple Nguyen Khac Hoa, 31, and Vo Thi Cam Dien, 27, in Tan Binh Village, Ninh Binh Commune, Ninh Hoa Town was so depressed when seeing their first baby son Nguyen Gia Bao born in 2017 suffering from a cleft clip. Holding his son in his arms, he could not keep his tears from dropping for the unfortunate baby. His wife felt so sad that she had to remain in hospital for 1 month.
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The lip forms between the fourth and seventh weeks of pregnancy. Cleft lip happens early in pregnancy between the fourth and fifth weeks of pregnancy and cleft palate between the seventh and eighth weeks of pregnancy. The causes of orofacial clefts among most infants are unknown. Cleft lip and cleft palate are thought to be caused by a combination of genes and other factors, including the environment the mother comes in contact with during pregnancy, says Pham Hoang Phong, Chief of the Department of Obstetrics, Khanh Hoa General Hospital.
Happiness comes back
Aiming to provide life-changing surgeries for bright beautiful smiles, Khanh Hoa Children’s Fund in cooperation with Operation Smile Vietnam (OSV) provided more than VND125 million for cleft lip and palate surgeries in 2017 and 2018. Since 1994, Vietnam Children’s Fund has funded operations for nearly 30,000 born with cleft lip and palate nationwide with a total cost of nearly VND70 billion. Operation Smile Vietnam has pledged to provide over VND10 billion for the cleft lip and palate operation program through Vietnam Children’s Fund in 2019.
Le Bao Suong says she was so happy that her daughter would benefit from free surgery at the National Hospital of Odonto-Stomatology in 2018, “We have a hard life, struggling to make ends meet. I work for hire and my husband is a fisherman. We are so grateful for the financial support for our daughter’s operation. I hope our daughter would recover soon, eat and drink more easily after the operation,” she says.
Dien hope her son will develop normally as other babies. The cleft causes difficulty eating and drinking. The free operation program has brought a life-change surgery. “My son’ cleft has been fixed. I couldn’t stop tears of happiness. Since his birth, we couldn’t see his smile. All we wish is bringing a smile to the baby,” she adds.
In 2019, OSV continues funding clef and palate operation, covering travel and meal expenses at the hospital (VND350,000/ person) plus extra travel expense, VND100,000, for patients living over 40km far from province or city administrative centers and VND200,000 for those living over 80km far from the centers. The funding is directly sent to the hospital where the surgeries are performed.
Luu Thi Ngoc Lien, Director of Khanh Hoa Children’s Fund says the beneficiaries are babies with cleft lip, aged 2 month or older, weighing 4kg or more; and babies with cleft palate, aged 15 months or older, weighing 10kg or more; teenagers and adults with cleft lip, cleft palate, orofacial defects, nevus, hemangioma, etc.
Thanh Truc
Translated by N.T
