Date
Dear [use correct address and salutation, like senator ____; also put in the RE line of the email your constituency and specific concern]
I am writing to you as a deeply concerned constituent of Washington State because I recently received the devastating news that funding for the Cleft Lip and Palate Care Teams (Maxillofacial Teams) will be terminated by December 31, 2007. This news is devastating because cleft palates hit at the very core of mommies and daddies: we have created a baby we cannot feed. Statistics from the CDC show that the cleft lip and palate is now ranked as the number one occurring birth defect in the United States, and Spokane statistics reveal that our has twice that rate, approximately one in 350-450 births (2003-2005).
I am the mother/father of a _________________ who is monitored and cared for by the maxillofacial team, otherwise known as the cleft lip and palate team in _____. It has been a heart wrenching journey. [Write about when you found out about the diagnosis and your referral to Laurie Vessey and the feelings you encountered.]
[Now write about trying to feed your baby and the challenges you encountered.]
[Describe the surgery. Use colors, smells, and sounds to describe your experience.]
[Describe the recovery only to have the next surgery. Again, use your five senses so that the reader can experience what you felt.]
[Talk about your reflection on this whole journey and how you mark each anniversary of what you feel is important—the diagnosis, the first surgery, the moment you realized that it was not your fault, etc.]
A cleft lip and palate is NEVER just a cleft lip and palate: simple sewing is not the reality that we cleft lip and palate families face. We regularly see plastic surgeons, genetics specialists, speech therapists, orthodontists, oral surgeons, ear/nose/throat physicians, and hearing specialists. When all these professionals are present at the same place at the same time for our review boards, coordinated by Laurie Vessey, we feel secure that our kiddos are receiving the complicated care they need and deserve. We have come to depend on this dynamic team to direct us as to the next step of treatment--treatment that often lasts beyond their 18th birthday.
Please imagine yourself taking home a baby with such complex needs, and imagine what you would do without the guidance of the team lead by Laurie Vessey. I ache at the thought of our families in 2008 abandoned and left on their own. As mentioned before, the central issue in parenting our cleft palate infants is that we cannot feed our babies. The help from the Maxillofacial Team is invaluable, far too vital to be dissolved. Statistics from the CDC show that the cleft lip and palate is the most common birth defect, and Spokane has twice that. Our children face a lifelong struggle of surgeries, treatments, and care to reach their full potential in life. (For more in depth information of care, please consult the 50+ page book Critical Elements of Care on Cleft Lip and Palate on the Washington State Department of Health’s website under Maternal and Child Health Programs.)
To maintain this honorable program statewide (I cannot forget my cleft palate brothers and sisters whom the Yakima and Tacoma teams serve) costs about $153,000 for one year, which is truly a small price to pay for a huge benefit. For Spokane/Eastern Washington, Medicaid ($61,000) and the Spokane Regional Health Department ($35,000) match the funds the program receives from the state. Without state funds, these two resources disappear. If you truly believe in health care for all children, please do not neglect this large group of children and families. Please keep our most precious resources smiling.
I deeply thank you for your taking the time to address this critical issue and the crisis facing our cleft palate families should this program be terminated. George Washington Carver’s statement should be the theme of all of our lives: “How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant of the weak and the strong—because someday you will have been all of those.”
[Write your byline. Include your name, address, email, and phone number.]
(Please know that this is a difficult thing to do—to write a letter of such magnitude…I will consider it an honor to craft a letter for you if you send me the basic descriptions of surgery, recovery, and the future. My email is lynnelumsden@yahoo.com or you can call me at 768-9105….prevail!)