June Cotten recently got glasses and is seeing the world more clearly for the first time – but the effervescent, sweet, spunky and happy-go-lucky 3-year-old has a lot to show the world too.
Connecting with CHoR’s Center for Craniofacial Care before birth
June’s parents learned there was a possibility their baby had a cleft lip and palate at their routine 20-week anatomy scan during pregnancy. That’s when their midwife referred them to CHoR.
“We first met June’s parents when her mom was 33 weeks pregnant for a prenatal consult after her cleft lip was discovered on ultrasound,” said Jocelyn Horne, craniofacial program coordinator.
A cleft is an opening or gap that doesn’t close correctly when a baby is developing in utero. A baby can have a cleft lip, a cleft palate (opening in the roof of the mouth) or both, as in June’s case. Clefts can impact feeding, speech and hearing, which can affect other areas of growth and development too. Knowing about them early allowed June’s family and care team to begin planning, so they’d be prepared to address all of her needs from day one.
“June was seen in the hospital the day she was born to establish her feeding plan, and early on we touched base weekly to make sure her feeding was progressing,” said Dr. Jennifer Rhodes, plastic surgeon and director of our Center for Craniofacial Care. “She was followed closely to prepare for her cleft lip repair when she was 4 months old and then her cleft palate repair when she was 14 months old.”
The Cotten family was entering a season of unknowns, but they weren’t alone.
“It’s been a tremendous gift to have someone guide and lead us along the way. From the time that Jocelyn reached out to us after we found out about June’s cleft lip and palate, CHoR has taken so much of the burden off of us,” said June’s mom, Jessica. “From the beginning, they established trust with us and we are very grateful to have guidance at each stage from surgeries to therapies.”
Cleft care that continues throughout childhood
With June’s surgeries behind her, she continues to see the team in our multidisciplinary cleft clinic twice a year to make sure she’s developing and thriving. This may scale back to once a year as she gets older and will continue until she graduates from high school, or longer if needed.
“It is our goal that kids get to spend as much time as possible just being kids, and for parents never to have to worry that something is being missed or have to figure out on their own how to get their needs met,” added Jocelyn.
While the care team is keeping tabs on June’s health needs, June loves life and is always up for a good time with her siblings, cousins and friends.
“She is so incredibly resilient which we have seen her demonstrate time and time again with her surgeries and obstacles. We have been so proud of how she continues to overcome challenges in speech and vision, while keeping her zest for life and enjoyment of people,” added Mom.
June’s favorite things to do include playing with blocks, looking at books, singing and checking on her chickens. Her new glasses for myopia, or nearsightedness, are making fun a little easier these days too. Her CHoR team hopes she sees her cleft journey as something that demonstrates her strength and bravery and gives her confidence that she can do anything she puts her mind to.
"I have had many interactions with numerous health care organizations over my life. Our experience with CHoR is something so entirely different on all fronts,” said June’s dad, Jennings. “CHoR combined compassionate and capable care with efficient and coordinated logistics. Jocelyn's competence in helping us get quick answers and coordinate care has made what could be an incredibly challenging logistical nightmare into an almost seamless process. Dr. Rhodes not only did an incredible job in the surgery but her kindness and care along the way has been exceptional."
“Jocelyn has held our hand from the beginning, educating us and being a constant in our experience with CHoR. She has been such an assuring voice and brought about such peace of mind when we faced many unknowns for June,” said Jessica. “We will always be grateful for Dr. Rhodes for giving June her forever smile. We trust her guidance on June’s care plan and are grateful for her genuine care and honesty.”
Comprehensive cleft and craniofacial care at CHoR