Meet Mira, our 2025 Local Champion!
Written by Mira’s parents
You could say that Merveille’s (aka Mira) cleft journey began 51 years ago when her father was born with a cleft lip. This resulted in a hereditary component that increased the chance that a child would also be born with a cleft lip and/or cleft palate. At the 3-month ultrasound, the doctor observed images that appeared to indicate that Mira had a cleft lip and possibly a cleft palate. This was tough news to absorb. Our minds were naturally filled with anxieties about what life would be like for our child. The 6-month ultrasound confirmed the diagnosis of cleft lip and likely cleft palate. Shortly after the ultrasound, we were put in contact the Providence Center for Cleft Lip and Palate. We became part of the Maxillofacial Program and learned how our family would be supported along our cleft journey. This was incredibly reassuring to us as a couple and soon-to-be parents of a cleft cutie.
We decided to name our daughter, Merveille, which is French for “miracle” or “wonder.” As it turns out, our daughter decided that she didn’t want to wait until her due date (November 20th) to make her entrance into the world. Her mother experienced a severe placental abruption on the morning of September 20th and Mira was delivered via emergency cesarean section a couple hours later. Mira was immediately flown to Sacred Heart Children’s Hospital where she spent 11 weeks in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
Upon Merveille’s discharge from the NICU, the Maxillofacial Program began supporting us and our needs. With Merveille having both a cleft lip and palate, feeding her was an extremely challenging endeavor. The team was there to direct us to the resources available, to get the bottles we needed to feed Merveille, and much more. They provided frequent visits to our house to check on the health of Merveille and see how things were going for us as a family. We encountered challenges getting Merveille on track for her palate repair.
The palate repair surgery was completed in December 2020. Late 2021 we had our first maxillofacial review board. This is an amazing tool that helps keep cleft kids on track with their development and identifies potential issues early on. It was reassuring to know that Mira was on track and that there weren’t any troubling issues identified. Each of the review board members did a great job assessing how Mira was doing in their specific area of expertise. Our child wasn’t just a “patient number.” While having the cleft team in our lives doesn’t eliminate the challenges that come with a cleft, it is incredibly reassuring to know that we are not alone on our journey.
Today, Mira is a silly, talkative, smart 5 year old! She loves cooking, baking, gardening, sewing, and playing with her dog. She has more procedures and braces in her future, her parents are thankful for Sacred Heart Children’s Hospital being right here in Spokane so they don’t have to travel for her appointments. She loves visiting the hospital to see all her “friends”!
Thank you to the Warner Family for sharing Mira with us this year!