Page 4 - Behind the Smile - Spring 2014

Why is Sima Smiling?

Samina Zia found out in her 8th would be so amazing to give a and having some very diicult

month of pregnancy that her child a smile; maybe in a third surgeries to correct various

daughter, Sima, would be born world country. I would love to things like my lip and palate, and

with a cleft lip and palate. “I was do that.”
a surgical lap in the back of my

so worried about it when we throat to improve my speech.

found out,” she says, with a slight Looking back at her journey,

catch in her voice, “but I was Sima says there were times The Clinic was always a

reassured that everything would when it was very discouraging.
fun place to go to
be OK and that we could go to
“Between 7th and 8th grade, I because everyone was
the Lancaster Cleft Palate Clinic
went to a new school and it was so nice and the team
and they would take care of my
hard because the kids would just helped me so much. I
baby girl.”
look at me and judge me. They
had speech therapy and
18 years later, after many oper- didn’t know me, they didn’t know
they would always tell
ations to correct Sima’s cleft lip how smart I was or anything
me that everything was
and palate, she is a beautiful, about me.”
going to be ok.
smiling girl now at college with
“I’ve had many surgeries and the
the goal of working in the dental/
people at the Lancaster Cleft My mother was always so grateful
medical ield in some way.
Palate Clinic have been so kind for the team at the Clinic. They

“I’m interested in plastic surgery,” to me. They helped my mother would reassure her that every-

Sima says, “because I think it
so much when I was just a baby
thing would work out and it did.”

Page 4 _______________________________ Lancaster Cleft Palate Clinic ••• Behind the Smile eMagazine ••• Fall 2014