Walk raises awareness of childhood cleft lip and palate
By Khosrof Ohanian
Chloe’s Walk is coming once again to Memorial Park in Sierra Madre on Saturday October 14, 2017 starting at 10 a.m. This is our 5th annual event as we gather to bring awareness to the community about the medical condition Cleft Lip and Palate. Get all the details online at www.chloeswalk.com.
Our daughter Chloe was born in 2012 with a cleft lip and palate. As first time parents dealing with our daughters cleft lip and palate was overwhelming. Her cleft lip and palate were corrected over the course of multiple surgeries at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and the expert Cleft team. Now at age 5 she continues with intensive speech therapy. In the next couple years we will address issues related to her teeth and gums caused by the original cleft.
Here in the United State we have access to professional medical help and to medical insurance to offset the cost of treatment. However, around the world thousands of children are born every year where no medical services are available. As parents having gone through this experience with our daughter Chloe, our hearts break for the parents of those children around the globe.
We were introduced to Operation Smile by Chloe’s plastic surgeon who performed all her corrective surgeries. He volunteered every year on a medical mission with Operation Smile to offer his services to these children far away who had no other options. We can only imagine the joy of the parents when their children receive the medical treatment they would otherwise never have access to.
Operation Smile has been doing this for over 30 years. Each year they organize over 100 medical missions taking teams of medical professionals to the places where the need is the greatest. While these doctors, dentists, nurses and other staff offer their professional services, we can support them financially to provide the services these children are desperate for.
We invite you to join us to reach out to these children and families. You can participate at the walk at Memorial Park in Sierra Madre. Advance registration is recommended, go to www.chloeswalk.com/register. You can also contribute a tax deductible donation to pay for medical services at www.chloeswalk.com/donate.
Lets transform the lives of these children and bring back their SMILE.
