The Rev. Jesse Jackson is an alleged cleftie. Ditto the news broadcaster Tom Brokaw.
Clefts are often associated with retardation. That may explain how I when I switched schools, I wound up in all the remedial-education classes. It would be interesting to learn why my parents didn’t happen to notice.
My across the street neighbor is a cleftie. His wife is a nurse who worked for the plastic surgeon who did the last ‘tweaking’ of his lip.
Hellooo Mercy et al
My name is BMoK (well at least on here anyway) and I was born with a severe Uni- requiring lip, palette, skull, and nasal reconstruction. I am well nigh middle age and still have not had a tooth implant done so I’m missing a tooth at the palette cleft too.
To piggyback on what Quasi said- I think that for most people having a facial scar creates a condition where you spend a lifetime directly observing others reactions to the norms of apperance. For example -I can look at a the reaction to my scars in a person’s eyes and learn, within a few seconds, volumes about the persons feelings on vanity and acceptance.
Even though experience has taught me to hold little regard for those who look at my lip and either bring a hand to thier own mouth or reflexively display a look of shock, it’s taught me to cherish those that don’t.
Now what’s this about ‘nanna Puddin’?
Keep on Shinin’
BMoK
Cool, BMoK! Those are some very good thoughts indeed. … How about you? How often do you run into Our People?
I still have some baby teeth; they were lassoed with braces and coaxed into places where permanent teeth never showed up. It’s not a terrific-looking grin, but I guess it beats bridgework. My dentist has mentioned all sorts of techniques to make the appearance better, but then what? I’m going to spend the rest of my life worrying about caps and implants popping off? Nah.
Isn’t it time for a cleftie smilie?
Wordy McWord, MercyStreet. Avoid the suggestions to “improve” your appearance now. I had a full round of orthodontistry as a child, which moved around a lot of baby teeth that then proceeded to fall out. So I got to repeat the process as an adolescent, and ended up with a mouthful of teeth so unstable that I had to wear a retainer essentially forever. I had maxillofacial surgery to shorten my lower jaw and re-align my upper jaw, and still nothing lined up properly.
The biggest mistake I ever made was when I consented to having 4 healthy teeth ground down to nubs, so they could install a bridge to replace one missing tooth.
If I ever fall victim to foul play, they’ll identify my remains instantly from the dental records: “My God, the surgeon left his initials in the bone graft”.
I vote for a cleft smilie with a decidedly crooked smile.
As far as Our People go, I’ve only rarely encountered them. I met at few at the clinic, and a few at university, but in the wild, we seem to be few and far between.
I vote for a cleftie smilie accompanied by a bottle of hydrogen peroxide and a truckload of stinky triple-antibiotic ointment. (To the non-cleftie contingent: If you haven’t spackled your sinuses and nostrils with antibiotic ointment, why, you haven’t lived. You must! You simply must! Off you go!)
Burntsand, for how long did you do the orthodontia cha-cha? I had the whole works for 10 years. I had express permission to chew gum whilst wearing a retainer. Specialness!
And thanks ever so for the no-more-oral-futzing affirmation. I’m genuinely sorry you went through all that. … On the other hand, a monogrammed bone graft sounds like an eBay must-have.
I’ve never heard the term cleft-affected, always called it a harelip, but I’ve got one. I had a couple of successful surgeries to correct it when I was very young.
Mr. Mercy Street points out that kitty kats, like hares, are unilateral midline clefties. That’s a neat way of looking at it. … In school I came across a veterinary book that recommended euthanasia for kittens with cleft palates. Sniff!
Just chiming in to (re)welcome MercyStreet, whose thread about catbutts made me laugh until I nearly cried, and whose user name is one of my favorite Peter Gabriel songs.
I have nothing useful to contribute to this thread, though. Carry on.
Darling, it’s simply the latest thing. CSI Miami ain’t got nothing on me. The orthodontia cha-cha went on for 12 or more years … I remember dear Doctors who extracted teeth despite the fact that their anaethesia wasn’t working yet…Dr. Mengele, your office is calling.
The saddest thing, I think, is that most of the Doctors I dealt with genuinely wanted to help. But they were so clueless about what we kids had already gone through; they couldn’t imagine what children of 12 had already suffered, and what we remembered. I have a lifelong aversion to Doctors and Dentists that probably isn’t standing me in good stead now, but is a natural consequence of my childhood.
“Go to the Doctor? Are you mad? Do you know what happens at the Doctors?” Often unsaid, but always felt. Best of luck to you, MercyStreet, and to Mr. MercyStreet too.
To be completely ignorant, have you faced the decision of “Do we dare have a child?” yet? I know my parents had genetic counselling before I was born, because cleft lips run in my father’s family, but I honestly don’t know what I would do if a Doctor told me my child will have a severe cleft lip and palate. I’d like to think that it wouldn’t matter to me, but I’m chronically unsure. What are your thoughts?
Love,
burntsand.
I was not going to reply to this, but after a couple of beers and lack of sleep I figure, oh well. Yes I’m a cleftie lip and palate, along with several other things. Also, because of a some cartlidge blocking my nasal passage, I cannot breath through my nose very well, which I am pretty sure is because of palate or surgeries. Partially because of it I had a rough time in school, and thought of myself as a freak. I went through several years of speech therapy as a child which I have vague memories of. I can look at myself in the mirror but cringe when I see myself in a photo or on video, so I actively try to avoid having my picture taken.
I am not nearly as self conscious as I was, but still can feel uncomfortable at times. I do have a mustache, although in a reverese Chaplin the center of my lip has no hair, and a goatee because I feel more comfortable than when I was clean shaven. The doctors did a good job with me, but as a kid anything that makes you stand out is generally not a good thing. Now, however I am able to talk about it and even make some jokes, but I will usually try to change pretty soon. Fortunately it does not come up much, either people don’t notice or it is no big deal. For the most part I think I have accepted it and am able to deal with it, in fact I really do not think about it too much anymore, not like there is anything I can do about it anyway. 
I’m not sure if this had anything to do with me not wanting kids, but I have never felt the desire to have any. Maybe deep down it is part of it, because there was some history of it in my family. Not sure if knowing it would be passed to my offspring would make much of a difference though.
Alright, enough of this honesty crap, I need to find a Star Trek or fart thead right now!
Well, you have already hit on one of the reasons that your encounters with the public are at odds with the statistical occurrence of cleft palettes quoted in medical literature. Mental retardation and other handicapping pathologies are much more frequent among the population that has cleft palettes.
The particular period of time during which the structures of the upper mouth form is a very busy time. Some of the events that occur will only involve the actual bone and tissue formation as that area grows into its final form. For that portion of the one in seven hundred fifty, the cleft palette is the only problem. (Yeah, I know, facial aberration is a big problem, but it can’t even come close to cranial malformations that expose the brain.) The other portion of the population with cleft pallets have a wide variety of associated problems, all arising out of developmental deficits during that same period of gestation. It’s a very important period, and such deficits can inflict a broad range of difficulties, including mental retardation, epilepsy, and chronic susceptibility to infection of the neurological system.
So, simply, you don’t meet those people very often. The ones you meet are like you, normal folks, with a single medical syndrome, and some tough real world lessons to learn. You seem to be doing pretty well.
Aside from the very severely handicapped folks I mentioned above, I have known three or four people with cleft pallets. One, who was my supervisor at the Post Office was called “The Duck” by our incredibly insensitive coworkers. But, he seemed to be totally unaffected by the name. He did have a lot speech difficulty, although it was not really all that hard to understand him, if you actually listened. His complete lack of sensitivity to the nickname eventually won him a very strong admiration from most of us.
And welcome to the Straight Dope.
“” is not a recognized response. ~ Unknown programmer ~
LifeOnWry, that cat-butt incident has had profound lasting effect. A moment ago, just before logging on, I lifted the container of a newly potted clematis. In the damp soil spooge that had collected in the flowerpot dish, I spotted a white threadish thing. I flashed back to Hankyspank’s parasitic bottom. Then I realized it was just a filament from the potting medium. Crikey! … (Your transition here.) … That Gabriel song really works, doesn’t it? Even cooler: M-E-R-C-Y – The “M” is for “Ms.” and “ERCY” are my initials.
Burntsand, I’m so pleased that you asked about having children. It’s a great question. … Mr. Mercy Street is a “Mr.” merely by association – perhaps I should refer to him as The Future Mr. Mercy Street, or The Siggy Other. We haven’t married because we haven’t resolved the issue of children. He wants them. I don’t. … Giving birth to a cleftie kid would send me right over the edge. I could deal with any other so-called defect: Down’s syndrome, cerebral palsy, extra heads, whatever. If some cosmic force put such a child in my arms, I’d consider it my mission to escort the little him/her through life with as much love, fun, and madcap unscripted moments as possible. As I see it, our schools are trying to embrace children – legislatively, culturally – with all kinds of physical differences. But if your face bears a port-wine stain, or a big scar, or pitting acne, you’re still viewed with great unkindness. When it comes to schoolyard evil, The Goofed-Up Face Kid stands just behind The Fat Kid.
Zap, thanks for emerging from the Cleftie Closet. I wish I had a door prize for you! Together we could write a song: “A Mouthful of Misdirected Listerine is Bathing My Sinuses and Man, it Cooks Like Hellfire.” Together maybe we can become the next “American Idol.” (I can see Simon now: “That was OOOOOOO-kayyyyyyy.” Paula would praise our dance moves.)
Triska, you’ve provided one fascinating, well-thought explanation. You’ve satisfied a lifelong curiosity. I can’t wait to discuss this with The Siggy Other and my mom. Thank you, thank you! I’m just thrilled by your kindness and insight.
And now, back to pulling out the papers from drawers that slide smooth … tugging at the darkness, word upon word.
XXOO
Good Morning Mercy Sorry to dissapear like that on you, but it was time to go home.
I had the full round of Orthodontia myself, and a very even smile, until a maxiliofacial surgeon in Dayton, OH convinced my mother that I needed one last surgery at 17. Long story short, they could not keep my face from shifting afterward and it phawked up my smile for life. I refuse to undergo the pain and expense of further procedures to fit a norm that I was born without. I am who I am. I have a beautiful wife and a good life, I don’t need to be molded into something that others belive to be better by a surgeon’s knife.
As far as the retardation thing goes, I have always been driven to overachieve to seperate myself from that.
Come to think of it- I’ve prolly only run into maybe five or six others with these scars, and have never had one interact with me and have had a few who seemed to be downright uncomfortable with seeing someone “like them”
Triskadecamus is right, many folks with this (or other related) affliction(s) never manage to have a life away from assistance or even survive to adulthood.
I’ve always felt blessed in that. My face is a little off, but my mind and health are intact. I’ve also been given an opertunity to study first hand, at every intial contact, what people are really like when faced with issues of apperance and ‘normalcy’.
My wife and I are planning to have our first child in 2004, and while I worry about the severe birth defects, I worry little over the possilbility of CP.
Keep on Shinin’
BMoK
Anyone here an “only” cleftie – that is, the only one in immediate and distant family? We can’t figure out where mine came from, although my mother suspects it’s linked to the drinking water. … In that case, though, I think the immediate area would have seen a high incidence of cleftieism.
MercyStreet Your sense of humor is awesome and I really like your writing style.
My third daughter was born with a bi-lateral cleft lip and palate due to something called holoprocencephaly sequence (and I’ve probably spelled that wrong). She lived for 4 days. She probably falls into that category that Triskadecamus was talking about. The doctors told me that her birth defect happened during the 3rd week of fetal development when I wasn’t even aware that I was pregnant. I was told at the time that most children born with this problem are institutionalized.
OK, enough of that sad story.
I dated a guy in high school who was a cleftie. He was cute and a really good kisser. Wonder what ever happened to him?
My former orthodontist had a cleft palate. The only evidence is a small scar on his upper lip. Maybe that’s why he became an orthodontist.
Thanks, Velvet, for the kind remark. You were brave to speak of your daughter’s death. I’ve learned something and I appreciate.
In other business … what are the chances that your hottie/cleftie high school boyfriend went on to become Arien’s orthodontist?!