Submucous cleft palate repair

Sweet Baby D will be having another surgery today, this time to repair his submucous cleft palate.  That is different than a regular cheft palate, you know the kind where there is a split in the top gums and top lip.  In the kind he has, the skin all grew correctly, just the inside bone structures didn't close.  So, there is a hole in the hard palate (the hard part of the roof of your mouth) but the hole is covered by skin, so it wasn't diagnosed in the NICU.  Actually it wasn't found by a doctor at all, it was found by two of my co-workers that are speech therapists.  To whom I am eternally grateful by the way!  If this had not been found, he could have grown up with a significant speech impairment, which according to the plastic surgeon, is almost impossible to overcome once they pass a certain age, even with a repair.  The surgeon said the muscles that form the soft palate are joined together instead of joining to the hard palate like they should.  This prevents the soft palate from closing off the airway through the nose when you talk, and often presents as someone who has a very nasal voice and inability to say certain sounds.  *****Disclaimer***** I am not a speech therapist, so all you speechies out there, correct me if I'm wrong!  This is just my understanding!*****

Anywho, gotta run... lots to prepare for before we leave.  We love you and trust you Lord Jesus!

In Mary's Mantle,
Chasity