Successes and Setbacks

Successes and Setbacks

I am currently doing two different fundraisers for Smile Train. One is the hearts fundraiser that I have previously talked about (in my previous post). Another fundraiser is a tie-dye party that I am planning to take place on Saturday, February 22nd from 1-4 pm at a local community center. So far the hearts fundraiser has gone amazingly well. In about 3 weeks of selling I have sold over 30 hearts and raised over $300! This is amazing and I am so thankful for the heartist in California (Hillel Rzepka) who has partnered with me on this project. If anyone is interested in a heart please feel free to contact me, my email will be at the bottom of this post. The tie-dye party has been a bit more difficult to plan because not everyone has been responding (by RSVP) which has made it hard to plan accordingly because I am unsure of how many materials that I need to buy. Although that part has been challenging, I am still looking forward to the event and to see the ultimate success. I plan on having a heart table to sell the glass blown hearts as well as a donation box. I hope that these will be quick and easy ways to raise even more money! After the tie-dye party, I will make another blog post describing the event and the ultimate outcome. 

Thanks for reading,

Grace Murphy

gracemurphy1836@gmail.com

Hearts for Smile Train

Fundraising with Hearts 

Special Thanks to Hillel Rzepka 

As mentioned in previous posts, one responsibility as a Smile Train student ambassador is to raise money. Raising money can be done in many different ways. One way that I have chosen to fundraise is through selling colorful hearts that have been made by burning glass. The artist who does this, Hillel Rzepka is based out of Laguna Beach Caifonia, and he calls himself a heartist which I find very fitting. Not only is he an artist who uses hearts to express himself creatively, but he also does this process with a lot of heart and compassion. He cares very deeply about philanthropy and giving back to the world, and he uses his art to do this. In this fundraiser, each heart is $20 and half of that goes to the charity that he partners with. In my case, we are working together to do a Smile Train fundraiser. I am very appreciative because giving 50% of the hearts proceeds to charity is an incredibly generous and thoughtful thing to do, especially considering the cost of materials and the time that is put into each and every heart. I am selling 10 different colors with a special custom heart that is blue and white mixed ($25). In only 3 days of attempting to sell these beautiful heart, I have already sold 6 hearts even with asking a limited amount of people. The hearts can serve as a personal treat or as a gift for loved ones. I look forward to selling more hearts and working more with Hillel, who is already doing so much for me and Smile Train. 

Thanks for reading 💙

My journey (so far)

My Journey with a Cleft Lip and Palate

A not so brief summary

I was born with a unilateral cleft lip and palate. Fortunately, I was born in a place where proper treatment was available to me and my family. I was 10 weeks old when I had my first surgery to initially repair my cleft. This was just the very beginning, children born with clefts require treatment throughout childhood and often into adulthood. When I was younger, I had difficulties speaking properly which is very common in children with clefts even after reparative surgery. I started speech therapy when I was around 18 months and continued all the way through elementary school which was when I was about 11 years old. 

My second surgery to fix my cleft lip and palate occurred when I was 5 years old. Even though it happened over 10 years ago I have a clear memory of playing with a puzzle toy that was part of the wall in the waiting room of the hospital. I remember having to wear arm cuffs after my surgery to avoid me touching my lip because I was still too young to understand what was happening. Around the same time, I started Kindergarten, I also started seeing an orthodontist. Before I finished 1st grade I had started my first round of braces after having an expander for over 6 months. I had that round of braces all the way until the end of my 3rd-grade year. I remember pretty vividly always being the youngest in my orthodontist’s office. 

Throughout elementary school when I was in the process of losing my baby teeth, I remember having pretty bad anxiety about my teeth. I oftentimes had nightmares where all of my teeth fall out and when a tooth would get lose I would be so scared of I can’t even recall what. Most of my fear came through my little tooth, which was the tooth that was the most impacted by my cleft. It is the tooth immediately to the left of my two front teeth. That baby tooth was so small, but it was loose for a very long time. We were never sure if it would fall out by itself, and it never did. Towards the end of elementary school, I had it pulled which was honestly one of the most anxiety-filled moments of my life. I have such a high pain tolerance for everything, except anything relating to my mouth because of my experiences with my cleft. 

Around the time that I started middle school, I began to have trouble breathing which we assumed was relating to my cleft lip/palate. I went to the ENT (Ears Nose and Throat Doctor) and they saw that I had slightly swollen adenoids, but what was causing most of the trouble was a severely deviated septum. My left nostril was almost completely blocked off which was the main contributor to my difficulties breathing.  In April of my 6th-grade year, I had surgery to repair my deviated septum and to also remove my adenoids. What I remember most about this experience was how much I hated it. I had always been an extremely active kid and about a year before my surgery, I had started gymnastics which I loved along with basketball, running (which I hate now, lol) and soccer. I had to be out of all activities, including PE class for 6 weeks. I had to leave class early for fear of getting hit in the nose during the passing period. I hated leaving class early and having to use the school elevator (because the stairs were too busy) because I felt like it drew attention to me. 

Right before 7th grade, I got braces again. My teeth were not even close to straight because the first round had mostly been for aligning my teeth and my jaw overall. I never really minded braces, however, I always hated the appointments because my doctor would have to tighten my braces. This tightening process was always difficult for me because my teeth, especially my top front teeth are extremely sensitive because of my cleft, so these appointments were never pain-free. 

At the start of freshmen year, we started planning for my bone-graft surgery. This would be a procedure where a bone from my hip would be removed and transplanted into my jaw, more specifically the area of my cleft. This procedure was done to provide more structure and support for my lip which will be important later on in my life. Through the surgery, we also hoped that a tooth implant would be possible. In the winter, about 2 months before my surgery would take place I had my adult tooth removed that was most impacted by my cleft. The tooth never came down properly and it didn’t have a strong enough root and was too poorly shaped to keep it. So we decided to remove it and hope that an implant would be possible in the future. Throughout my freshman year, we met with my doctor multiple times who would perform my surgery. We chose to have it done at Shriners Children Hospital of Chicago, which is where my doctor performed the majority of his surgeries. 

Since I was a lot older (15 years old) I remember a lot more about this surgery. I remember how painful the recovery was, especially since my hip was impacted as well because that was the host site. Just like in 6th grade, I had to be out of sports and other physical activities for 6 weeks in order to recover. I had to miss the start of the soccer season, which was pretty disappointing to me. I had a lot of support from my friends and family throughout this most recent surgery, so for that, I am very thankful. 

Towards the end of the 2019 summer, I got my braces taken off. This was very meaningful to me because it signified the beginning of the end. My teeth certainly aren’t perfect now, but they are straight and pretty great, especially considering the severity of my cleft. I am very thankful to my amazing orthodontist for this. A few days after getting my braces off I received a flipper that contained a fake tooth that is on what is similar to an expander. When I have my flipper in, people are often unable to tell that I was ever born with a birth defect. We’re not sure what type of fake tooth we’ll use in the future because a flipper is usually a temporary situation. We learned shortly after my most recent surgery that an implant wouldn’t be possible because even with the graft surgery there is still not enough structure to support an implant. It is likely that I will still need another surgery to help the structure of my jaw, but it depends on how I grow. 

Around the time that I got my braces off, I discovered the Smile Train student ambassador program while scrolling through Instagram. I decided to apply because I always wanted to be able to give back to children like me, but aren’t fortunate enough to receive proper care for their cleft lip and/or palates. When I received the information that I was a Smile Train student ambassador in late July/early August I was so happy and looked forward to an exciting year filled with new learning opportunities. Currently (December 2019) I have already hosted my educational event and am in the midst of planning my first fundraising event. I am planning a tie-dye party that will take place at the beginning of February. I also have other events that I am beginning to plan, such as a trampoline park fundraiser among other things!

Although this journey has been difficult, I am forever thankful for it because it has taught me so many things about myself and the world around me. I am forever grateful for my amazing doctors and nurses who treated me throughout my surgeries and other treatments. I am also very thankful for the new path of my journey which is being a Smile Train student ambassador! 

Thanks for reading,

Grace Murphy

"Be the reason someone smiles today" 

Starting Out

I have decided to try out blogging as a way to show my work and progress as a 

Smile Train student ambassador. The reason that I originally got involved with Smile Train is 

that I was born with a cleft lip and palate. I am very fortunate to have been able to have 

received/be receiving proper and amazing care for my cleft. I am also familiar with the fact, 

however, that many children born in the developing world are unable to receive life-

changing cleft lip and/or palate reparative surgery. Since I was so lucky for my cleft lip and 

palate to only be the start of my story I want to be able to help other children born with clefts 

to be able to thrive to their full potential in life. When I was scrolling through Instagram this 

summer, I saw on Smile Train's account a post about an application to be an official Smile 

Train student ambassador. When I first read that post I knew that this was meant for me, 

because I have always wanted to help raise money and awareness for Smile Train in a 

bigger and more impactful way than just birthday fundraisers that I did when I was younger. 

So far, I have already talked to my school's volunteer club that ran as a Smile Train 

educational event and I am planning on holding at least two fundraising events in the near 

future. I plan on hosting a tie-dye party in early February and a jump the night away party (at 

a local trampoline park) at the end of February or at the beginning of March. Stay tuned 

because updates will be coming very soon on both events! So far I am loving the opportunity 

of being a Smile Train student ambassador. I am looking forward to going to New York in 

March for the student ambassador summit where we will explore the big apple, but more 

importantly go to Smile Train's headquarters to learn more about Smile Train and how it 

operates behind the scenes. I am so thankful for all of the opportunities that have come my 

way. I will keep this blog updated as more events and updates happen. I plan on posting my 

story of being born with a cleft lip and palate very soon, so keep an eye out for that! Thanks 

for reading and I hope you have an amazing day! Remember to spread love and joy 

wherever you go! 

Until next time,

Grace Murphy 

"Be the reason someone smiles today"