Back in 2003, Jase and Missy Robertson from the reality show "Duck Dynasty" were quite surprised to find out that their youngest daughter, who was then only 31 weeks old, would be born with a cleft lip and a possible cleft palate.
During an interview with Fox News, the Christian reality stars opened up about the experience they went through after learning about their daughter's condition, saying they probably wouldn't have been able to deal with it had it not been for God's grace and the support extended by members of their respective families.
Missy said she was undergoing a 4-D ultrasound to see the features of her unborn daughter in the summer of 2003, little expecting to receive the news about her daughter's cleft lip and palate. "I had heard of it, but I knew nothing of the condition at all," Missy admitted.
Her husband said they initially thought that there's no big difference between a cleft lip and a cleft palate. But these two things turned out to be actually worlds apart.
"We didn't realise either the difference in just a cleft lip and a cleft palate, which doesn't sound like a whole lot, but (for) the lip you do a couple of surgeries, or one and you're good to go," Jase explained. "When it involves the palate it's going to be a long journey because then even though you can repair it and form the palate as you grow, the jaw and the palate you created don't grow right."
The concerned parents took Mia to her first surgery at the International Craniofacial Institute in Dallas, Texas, when she was only 17 days old. For the next 12 years of her life, that institute was where Mia had countless surgeries to get her cleft lip and palate fixed.
"We wanted the best possible care we could find for her and this condition," Missy said. "There's a lot of cosmetic surgeons in America that do cleft lip and palate procedures, but they're not at the top of their list, and we wanted someone who really takes the time to research this, and try to do their best every single day."
Mia's surgeries, as well as Missy's struggles with her pregnancy and her miscarriages are all discussed in their new book entitled "Blessed, Blessed...Blessed."
In the book, Jase and Missy share how frustrating and difficult it can get for parents to see their child go through so many surgeries then have to see her appearance change with each one.
"You need a network for support because it's very emotional, and it's just hard to watch your child suffer so much," Jase said. "Every time she has surgery it changes the way she looks, and most people from the outside looking in think 'Oh that's great,' but for the parents that's pretty traumatic, because you get used to the way your child is and when that is altered it can just become very frustrating to deal with."
Probably the most difficult surgery that Mia went through, according to her mom, was the recent one which required surgeons to break the top of her jaw from the bottom, pull it forward, re-attach it, then treat the bone with growth hormones so that the bottom jaw does not outpace growth of the top.
It was a complicated surgery, but without it, Mia would have difficulty with speech, and risk choking on her food. "It was very difficult because there is a lot of blood involved when you cut through bone," Missy said.
After the surgery, Mia was placed in the intensive care unit. She vomited blood for 12 hours before being moved to a regular hospital room.
Mia will not be needing any more surgeries in the current future, but she still needs to wear a headgear at night to keep her jaw in place. Plus, she has to visit an orthodontist in Dallas every six weeks for a check-up.
"We're just going to try to enjoy life and let her do her gymnastics, competition cheer and be a kid, and live a normal life for a while," Missy said. "We take it little by little."
In honour of their daughter, Jase and Missy also started a resource organisation called MiaMoo.org, where parents who have children with cleft lip and palate could go to.
"We tried to accumulate as much of the good information that's out there, and helpful information onto that site," Missy said. "Knowledge is power so we want to make sure that the parents are informed enough so that they can make the decision that fits best for them and their child."
Ultimately, the Christian couple hopes that other people who are going through the same thing that they underwent will be inspired by their daughter's story and journey.
"Mia's just a wonderful human being despite having these challenges, so I'm hoping it will give people hope and encouragement that no matter what trial they're going through, if they'll take some of the aspects that I lay out in the book, and also some of the mistakes that we made that we're able to share, they can say 'Okay, if they can do this, I can do this,'" said Missy.
