Mom and Robyn

When I had just given birth to my third child, having nursed my first two successfully, I sensed that something was very wrong. My little baby girl was unable to close her mouth to suck. I spoke to the pediatrician who told me that there was nothing wrong with her 

When she was about three days old, she was still losing weight, so they put a naso-gastric tube in, again telling me that nothing was wrong. I wanted answers, and I was in a state of panic. 

When Robyn was seven days old, I took her home. They told me to let her sleep for twenty minutes and then to try to feed her for another twenty. By that time, I had given up on breast feeding. In fact, I had just about given up on everything! It wasn't until she was four days old that the physicians told me she had a cleft palate. They apologized for not noticing sooner. 

On the  way to Robyn's three week checkup,  I crashed the car. You can imagine the state I was in! She was in a carry tot and the accident, though it didn't really hurt either of us, scared her enough to produce hysterical cries. 

That did the trick, because the doctor noticed that her face wasn't appropriately responding to the crying. He diagnosed Moebius syndrome on the basis of what he saw as facial paralysis. He congratulated himself on the diagnosis. And I felt relieved that my fears were not "all in my head" after all. 

Thanks for taking the time to read what was for me a true horror story.   

Here's a picture of Robyn today...a real blessing in our lives!

Teresa Kirk