One of the most compelling reasons we volunteer for Mending Faces is for the lives we change and the stories that we become a part of. Cindy Hoffman, volunteer from Ithaca, NY on her 4th mission with Mending Faces, shared her perspective of one of these especially touching stories.
On the first day of the El Salvador 2022 mission, Cindy was observing surgeons Åse and Hallvard screen each patient for their eligibility for surgery. She was in the room as mother Lilian and son Isaias entered to each be screened for their shortened tongue frenulum, a condition that restricts the tongues range of motion. The mother explained to the surgeons that through this condition, both the mother and son have speech problems as a result of the shortened frenulum. The surgeons, after evaluating Isaias’ tongue, told the mother that surgery would not be helpful. “Usually speech problems come with palate problems, but can also be related to so many things like muscles behind the palates, or cognitive function, or articulation failure,” said Åse. The surgeons didn’t want to perform a treatment that wouldn’t address the issue, and felt that speech therapy would be more effective than the frenectomy.
After making the decision not to operate on the boy, the surgeons removed him from the seat and asked the mother to sit down for evaluation. During her evaluation, Lilian began to cry, “I beg of you to do anything to help my son, you don’t understand, he cannot speak, he is bullied at school, he cannot go to school, if it’s a choice between me and my son, please do not even look at me.” She tried to have her son Isaias demonstrate the trill, the sound of rolling r’s that’s so important to the Spanish language, and neither the mother nor the son could perform the sound.
Åse and Hallvard were not willing to perform a surgery that they did not believe would be helpful for the patient. Usually, the tongue ligament is not the answer, but rather a component of a more complex issue. However, moved by the mother’s emotions and willingness for sacrifice, they could hear that the trill was difficult and decided to take a second look at the boy. Eventually, they both decided that releasing the tongue could be helpful to the boy’s improved speech in the future, coupled with speech therapy.
Both Lilian and her son Isaias received the tongue frenectomy free of charge in the hopes of improving their speech and overall social disposition. For Cindy, this heart-tugging story of a mother’s love for her son affirmed what she’s learned in the last four Mending Faces missions that she has been a part of - “good mothers are shining examples of what the world should be; love and sacrifice.”
Cleft lip and palate are just one example of many physical deformities that people’s lives are burdened with around the world. At Mending Faces, we are grateful to help alleviate physical and social burdens for many around the world. If you would like to be a part of our life-changing missions, please consider volunteering, or making a donation today.