Chat – 01 August 2019

Ourlittleboy

faced three ops...

A doctor

explained

Camhada

bilateral

cleft palate

‘Would I ever

see him

Mytwinslookednothingalike

SaraMartin, 27

Youshould

SEE HIM NOW

29

DELIVERY-SUITE SHOCK

F

oldingtinyvestsand

sleepsuits,I divided

themintopiles.

‘OneforJack,onefor

Cam,’I grinnedto my

husbandMatt,28.

It wasDecember 2017 and

ourtwinboyswereduein

fourmonths.

Weweresoexcited.

I’dhada goodpregnancy,

andalreadygrowna lovely,

bigbump.

We’dboughtmatching

outfits,twoof

everything.

Twocribs,

twoprams,two

carseats...

Atfirst,I’d

worriedhowwe’d

tellourbabies

apart.But,atour

16 weekscan,

we’dfoundoutthe

twinswouldn’t

beidentical.

‘Maybeonewilllooklike

you,andonelikeme,’I grinned

happilyto Matt.

On3 April2018,wedrove

to a hospitalhereinDallas,

Texas,formyCaesarean.

‘I can’twaitto seemyboys,’

I smilednervouslyto Matt,as

I waspreparedforsurgery.

Anhourlater,babyJack

wasdelivered.

I weptwithjoyasMatt

snappedphotosof themidwife

weighinghim.

‘He’sa biglad!’she

smiled– 8lb14oz.

Jackwas

a gorgeous,

strappingbaby.

‘Now for

Cam,’I said,squeezingMatt’s

hand,asthemidwifedelivered

oursecondson.

But,whensheheldhimup,

webothgasped.

Cam’sfacelookedsquashed,

hisnoseflat.

Partof histoplipwasmissing.

‘Something’swrong!’

I cried,panicking.

‘Lookslikehehasa cleft

palate,’themidwifesaidto

megently,handingCamto

a doctor tobeexamined.

Mattand

I werestunned.

Nothinghad

beenpickedup

duringthescans.

Wehadnoidea.

WhileCam,who

weighed6lb14oz,

wastakenfor

tests,I wentback

to theMaternity

WardwithJack.

A doctor

explainedto usthatCamhad

a bilateralcleftpalate.

It meanthehadtwosplitsin

hisupperlipanda gapinghole

intheroofof hismouth.

‘Partsof hisfacedidn’tjoin

upproperlywhenhewas

developing,’hesaid.

The doctor said there was

noknowncauseforthis.

Wemetplasticsurgeons,who

saidourbabywouldneedthree

surgeriesto correcthisface.

Oneasa baby,twowhen

hewasolder.

Buthecouldbescarredforlife.

I wasbesidemyself.

Watchingmytwoboys

sidebysideonthewardwas

souldestroying.

Wehadknownthey

weren’tidentical.

ButI’dnotexpectedthem

to lookthisdifferent.

Jackhada cutebuttonnose

andsweetlittlemouth.Yetpoor,

tinyCam’sfacegapedopen.

Fourdayslater,wetook

thetwinshome.

Butit washard.

Camcouldn’tlatchonto be

breastfed,soMattfedhim

using aspecialbottle.

Still,myheartwas

burstingwithlove.

Whenwetook

theboysout

intheirdouble

pram,people

wouldcomeover.

‘Twins!’

they’dsmile.

Only,when

they caught

sightof Cam’sdistorted

face,they’drecoilinshock.

‘What’swrongwithhim?’

they’dgasp,withoutthinking.

Theirwordsstung.

Tome,Camwasperfect.

Heclungto hisbigbrother

Jack,alwaysreadyfora cuddle.

Alertandclever,hedidn’t

missa trick.

Hewasthefirstto graba toy

orkickhislegswithexcitement

whenit wasdinnertime.

Whenthetwinswerealmost

3 months,I wasticklingtheir

bellies,makingsillynoises.

Jack,wide-eyedandexcited,

flashedmea beautifulsmile,

butit wasbittersweet.

Turningto Cam,I couldsee

fromthewayhiseyeslitup

thathewasgrinning,too.But

hismouthwastoodamaged.

It washeartbreaking.

WouldI eversee

my baby smile?

Bothofmy

babieswere

perfect to me