Once upon a very special smile
 

On July 1, 2004, our son, Dylan David was born. His birth was picture perfect. Swaddled in a blanket, held by my husband, Chris, I got to kiss my "wide-smiled" baby just moments after his entrance into this world.

It started immediately. An instant pang that made my heart hurt and love beyond any unit of measure, all at the same time.

It being the intense love, fear, anger and even relief, that a mother feels when her child is born with a birth defect. The intense love needs no explanation, nor the fear of the unknown; anger at a society that can be so cruel to people who are “different”, and relief knowing that it could have been something much worse.

Dylan was born with bi-lateral cleft lip and palate, a birth defect of the nose, lip and palate (roof of his mouth). I am less fearful with each day. We’ve overcome hurdles with special feeding devices, multiple surgeries, the intense recovery periods that followed - and our personal insecurities as parents of a child requiring unique care. My heart still beats a little faster, and my eyes still well a bit, to think about how much Dylan has so courageously endured, with a smile so brilliant and captivating, every step of the way.

We were blessed to know of Dylan’s condition through ultrasound early in my pregnancy. Through the months, weeks, days – minutes – that followed the initial revelation, I was distracted and at times fearful, yet very much in love with the life inside of me.

Our family is fortunate to have an incredibly talented, dedicated and skilled medical team in place to provide comprehensive, progressive care for Dylan.

It’s through my overwhelming love for my children, and passion for helping the next family along in their discovery, education and treatment experience, that this organization was born.


Daphne Christensen
Norwalk, Iowa
daphne@dylanssmile.com 

Dylan before surgeries	Dylan, age 4