Dear friends and supporters!
We share with you the story of Raimo, a brave young man who grew up in an orphanage and currently lives alone in a social housing apartment in Sindi. Throughout his life, he has faced the difficult challenge of a cleft lip and palate, leading to years of struggle with self-confidence and school life. Despite his health condition, which comes with various physical and social barriers, Raimo has approached life with optimism. Now, we have the opportunity to significantly improve his quality of life by supporting the funding for a critically important surgical operation.
In Estonia, all possible operations have already been performed on him with the support of the Health Insurance Fund. Due to a particularly complex case, Raimo needs further assistance from world-class experts in the field, led by Professor Jyri Hukki from Helsinki. Without such help, Raimo cannot live a fulfilling life.
The challenge
Raimo’s background includes complex and long-term orthodontic treatment, starting in the Dental Polyclinic in Pärnu and continuing in Tallinn from 2018 to the present. Due to a deep and especially wide cleft lip and palate, Raimo’s palate was very narrow and highly scarred after the initial surgery.
At school, Raimo was often ridiculed by others because of his appearance and speech impairment. He lost mental balance and sought help from a psychiatrist, even being hospitalized for mental health issues. Upon reaching adulthood, Raimo got a new home and started living independently with the help of a guardian. Raimo is a friendly, well-meaning, and helpful young man: he currently volunteers at a dog shelter. He hopes that the operations will help him speak more clearly, improve his facial appearance, and boost his confidence.
Time is critical
The first critical step in Raimo’s recovery journey is the bone grafting operation, which creates a bone bridge between the two halves of the jaw. Once the bone bridge is in place, the next necessary operation can occur about 6 months later, which Raimo eagerly awaits: bringing the upper jaw forward to improve the shape of the face and occlusion, and to restore the shape of the nose deformed by the cleft lip, as if Raimo were born without a cleft lip and palate.
Renowned plastic and reconstructive surgeon, Professor Jyri Hukki, who has operated on thousands of patients with a cleft lip and palate in Finland and the Nordic countries from infancy to adulthood, has called this bone addition procedure essential.
Partial bone grafting has been done before, but unfortunately, it was not successful and needs to be redone on a larger scale. The cost of this initial operation is estimated at 12,000 euros.
Looking forward to the future
After the first surgery, Raimo needs a comprehensive facial-jaw and nose operation simultaneously, planned for the end of 2024. The cost of this procedure, which will last about seven hours, is 34,000 euros. This operation is crucial for improving Raimo’s facial structure, speech, and ultimately his self-esteem and quality of life.
It may happen that Raimo will need a third operation after the second one, a speech correction operation. The risk of needing this operation exists and is related to bringing the facial bones forward and its impact on the larynx. This is a simple and quick operation and should not cost much compared to the first and second operations. If needed, it would happen quite soon after the second operation.
How you can help:
We are extremely grateful for your generosity and ask for your support for Raimo. Every donation, no matter the size, brings Raimo one step closer to a life where he can smile, speak clearly, and live with much more confidence. Let’s unite our forces and give this young man a chance for a happy and fulfilling future.
