about Karington

This will be long.. so bear with me.. My daughter Karington is 4 now.. when she was born she couldn't breast feed bc her mouth wouldn't latch right.. so I had to pump and bottlefeed.. when she was 15 mths old she had to have her tonsils/adenoids taken out due to obstructive sleep apnea(really huge tonsils blocked her airway).. at the same time they did a nose outfracture for what appeared to be a deviated septum.. Ever since she was born she's sounded congested although she wasn't. and now as a 4 yr old she talks very nasally and her speech has become affected by all of this. I took her for a speech evaluation today through the school district and she failed it which I knew she would, so she has to have therapy for it. But the lady also suggested that she has a pallet problem , or craniofacial issue that is causing her pallet to narrow which is making her teeth start to protrude and worsening her speech problems. I had already taken her to the dentist, and ENT for both issues and they said there was nothing to be done at all by ENT , and the dentist said she would need orthodontics when she got her permenant teeth to correct the narrowing of the top jaw.. SO when the therapist said all of this she had no idea about any of Karington's history so I told her and she said she needed to see a Cleft Pallet team about the issues because an ENT would not pick up on the problem and referred me to a doctor here. Well I called the dr and its a plastic surgeon so now im kinda freaking out. Im praying they won't have to operate on my baby.. it was hard enough at 15 mths but now at 4 she knows whats going on and I couldn't handle her fear I guess my nerves are really tore up and I just needed to vent it all out of my system.. Her appt is Tuesday so I will update everyone then.. just pray for my baby! Thanks jen

Prayers are coming your way! Call me if you want to talk! Patti

First of all I love her name. I've never heard that name before but it's really pretty. I'm so sorry that she has to go thro all this and I hope that the Cleff Pallett Dr says it's something that can be corrected thro ortho work now. Maybe a spacer put in the roof of her mouth or something to start widening her jaw? Don't let it worry you to much I'm sure she's making it out to be a bigger deal that what it really is. (hope so anyways) She will be in my thoughts and prayers. (((HUGS)))

Bless your heart! I can totally understand where you are coming from. Lots of love and prayers coming your way! (((HUGS))) ~Elizabeth

Call me....remember I am a speech therapist. Maybe I can calm your nerves. Rachel

Jen this is hard to imagine but the Lord loves your Baby K even more than you. Take one step at a time His grace will be there for you...see what the specialist says Tuesday and then take next step. The hospitals are soo good with children now and can calm them and we will be praying for her as well. If you need to talk...please email me at [email protected] and I will call you. In His love, Joan M

Jen, You sound JUST like me ... I would have freaked if presented with surgery when my kidlets were tiny. In emergency situations though ... as you well know ... we do what we have to do! Thank God this is not "emergency", and you can take your time and get yourself and all the facts straight before proceeding. You really SHOULD talk to our resident Speech Therapist (Rachel)! When Adam ("aka "hottie") was in elementary school, we went through a palate widening regime with an orthodontist ... involving lots of pain and trauma ... only to have it not really make enough difference. The orthodontist's recommendation was to wait until he was fully grown, and then go thru surgery to break his upper jaw, and have everything reset to where it should be. Needless to say, when reached "grown", he said "HELL NO" to any elective pain and trauma. Getting his wisdom teeth removed almost killed the boy. I didn't force, so he lives on today with a "narrow and displaced palate". They warned that it might cause headaches ... and he says he's not really been bothered by anything, yet. Let us know what you find out on Tuesday ... and REALLY TRY not to worry. She'll be ok ... she has the best Mama in the world! Dawn

Poor baby! We'll keep our fingers and toes crossed that they can find a less invasive way to fix her problem. I can understand how you must feel. I would be absolutely feaking out. I will be thinking about you both. Please call if you need anything. Kathy