Janesville 8-year-old born with cleft lip and palate says let anything stop her
JANESVILLE, Wis. (CBS 58) -- July is National Cleft and Craniofacial Awareness Month and one 8-year-old girl from Janesville continues to prove that her condition won't stop her from achieving her dreams.
Victoria Harvey says her passion is dance.
"I really like jazz, ballet and tap most of the time," said Victoria Harvey.
Victoria Harvey
The young competitive dancer spends hours in the studio doing what she loves and sharing it with others on stage at national competitions. Something her mom, Sarah Harvey, takes pride in because outside of the studio her daughter has been to hundreds of doctor appointments and counting.
"At our 20-week ultrasound we already knew we were having twins, but we did find out that Victoria was going to be born with a cleft lip and a cleft palate and at that time we were a little unsure about what that meant," said Sarah Harvey.
Harvey's twins were born in 2016. Victoria was born with a unilateral cleft lip and palate, a birth defect causing her upper lip and roof of her mouth to not fully develop.
"We started meeting with their cleft team when Victoria was just four days old and they evaluated her and made a plan for her specifically for her situation," said Sarah Harvey.
Dr. Catharine Garland has been helping the family since Harvey's ultrasound at American Family Children's Hospital in Madison, sticking by their side through every step of Victoria's cleft journey.
"When we are going through these tough times especially that first year of life, there are so many treatments that they need, so many visits to the doctor, therapies, two surgeries in roughly the first year of life," said Dr. Garland.
Garland says cleft lips impact one in 700 children in the United States. In Victoria's case, her cleft lip and nose were repaired at 6 months and her cleft palate at 14 months, leaving minimal scarring, but a tough journey ahead.
Victoria Harvey
"It's absolutely a process," said Sarah Harvey. "So, once we get to a surgery, they evaluate and then we decide what comes next. So, I don’t have all the answers as far as when it will be complete, with her surgeries."
Now having four surgeries so far and therapy, Victoria says she thinks of the hospital as her second home.
"It's been just like me going to my two different types of homes or like vacation sometimes," said Victoria.
Through the tough times, she says she can always rely on her twin sister, Gwendolyn to make her smile.
"She's always been so kind and she's been supporting me a lot," said Victoria.
Victoria Harvey
She doesn’t let anything hold her back.
"I just kind of sometimes take some deep breaths and just remember why I'm supposed to be there," said Victoria.
Something her mom says has been no easy feat.
"Victoria is so brave and so incredibly resilient," said Sarah Harvey. "It's not easy you know having to get pulled out of school to doctors' appointments and having to get pulled out of school for surgeries, but she is always just so positive through all of it."
Using that positivity, her mom says Victoria has been able to do everything a regular eight-year-old kid does.
"She really has so much strength," said Sarah Harvey. "She bounces back in just an amazing way and we just couldn’t be more proud of her."
Preparing for third grade and another surgery this fall, Victoria has one word to describe how she feels.
"Confident," said Victoria.
Even providing some sage advice for any other kids experiencing a similar journey.
"My advice for them is that they should never be scared or anything, because the doctors are going to help them very much," said Victoria. "And that they are always going to be so brave and that they've got this."