Smile Story - Alice

Alice was born seven weeks early in October of 2017. She was born with a complete bilateral cleft lip and cleft palate. She spent six weeks in the neonatal intensive care unit at Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis, Indiana, two hours away from home.

Alice was tube fed until she had a palatal obturator made so that she was able to drink from a bottle. At 4 ½ months, she had surgery to close her cleft lip, but could no longer could use the obturator. At this time, Alice was unable to feed from a bottle so she had a G-tube placed. She was also diagnosed with silent aspiration.

A week after her first birthday her palate was repaired. Her first taste of solid food was Thanksgiving dinner the following month! Alice didn’t need her g-tube much longer and it was taken out the following March. Around her 4th birthday (this year) she will have reconstruction of the nasal dorsum (bridge of the nose).

Thank you for taking the time to learn about Alice today. Isn’t she the cutest?