Hi, I'm Leanne Franson, and my son Benn Franson was born with a cleft lip and palate. He's been supremely fortunate to have had fantastic cleft teams to repair his lip and palate in China, oral surgery in Montreal, do his bone graft in his upper jaw here in Saskatoon when he was in grade school, and 13 years of orthodontic work. It's been a long haul, with speech therapy, teeth extractions, expanders, braces... but now he has the most incredible smile and the straightest teeth, as handsome as can be!

However, Benn still has a severe underbite of close to a cm. His top and bottom teeth simply cannot meet, and this affects his speech, his biting and chewing, and of course, his facial features.

We have waited for years for his jaw growth to be completed, in order to undertake this final oral surgery, and he has now come up on the waiting list! His surgery is scheduled for September 15, and his pre-surgery appointment is in just a few days, on August 12.

He will be getting a LeFort I osteotomy surgery on his upper jaw, where the facial bone is cut and the whole upper jaw moved forward and fixed with plates. And he will be getting a bilateral sagittal split osteotomy on his lower jaw, where a section of bone will be removed on each side of his mandible, and the whole jaw with teeth moved back, to meet properly with the surgically advanced upper jaw.

This amazing and complex procedure is covered by the Canadian healthcare plan, with the exception of special surgical guides, which will be created digitally. This Tuesday, he will be going in for a Cone Beam CT Scan of his jaw, face and bones. This will be used for virtual surgical planning, and a printed 3D model and surgical guide. This reference guide will be during the surgery for the surgical placement of the screws, plates etc. With this specialized advanced 3D guide, the surgeon will able to plan around blood vessels, nerves, soft tissues, bone and teeth, in order to have the fewest complications and best results.

Our cost for this, which is not covered by Medicare, is $4963 plus any additional costs for further tooth extractions if such should become necessary. We have already paid for all four of his wisdom teeth to be removed last fall. This cost is $3000 for each upper and lower 3D guide, and $350 for the scans, less $1387 extra funding which was secured for us. We need to pay 50% at his pre-surgical appointment Aug 12, and the remainder a week before his surgery, ie Sept 8.

I am very behind on this fundraiser, as my mother, Benn's grandmother, Elaine, has just passed away, and I have been occupied with being executor of her estate, and still have to travel to deal with her belongings in British Columbia, between Benn's pre-surgery scans and his actual surgery, as well as my self-employment. Things have been overwhelming lately.

This surgery is absolutely necessary, and will be life-changing for Benn. It will allow him to speak without a lisp, to be able to close his mouth properly. To bite and have his teeth meet. To be able to eat corn on the cob for the first time, or to bite through lettuce in a sandwich. I am desperately hoping he will keep his adorable dimples.

I am fundraising for his surgical guides, and also a little more to be able to cover his own bills while he is recuperating and unable to work, such as his cellphone.

After surgery, he will have his mouth fixed closed with springs hooked to his braces, and will have to be on a fully liquid diet. He will be able to eat regular food again in 4 to 6 months. It will take up to a year for the bones to heal and swelling to disappear, but this will be a lifelong change, and the final step in his very long nearly 20 year cleft journey.

Thank you for any help and encouragement you can give. Every little bit, no matter how small, will be so appreciated and helpful.

This is both very exciting and scary. It will be a hard recovery, but we fully trust our amazing surgeon Dr. Humber and his team, and our amazing orthodontist Dr. Anholt and his team. We are so incredibly thankful for their years of hard work, artistry and support, as well as the incredible advances in science, technology and surgery. Many many thanks to the Chinese, Canadian, Quebec, Saskatchewan healthcare systems, and to all our friends and family.

sincerely,

Leanne aka Mom.