Never Giving Up: An Adult Cleft Journey Through 25+ Surgeries, Advocacy, and Hope

About this episode

Corinne shares her lifelong journey with cleft lip and palate, discussing surgeries, advocacy, and the emotional impact of her experiences.

In this deeply personal and eye-opening episode of Our Forever Smiles , Laura welcomes returning guest Corinne for her third appearance on the podcast. Born with a cleft lip and palate, Corinne shares her lifelong journey through more than 30 surgeries, including repeated palate repair failures, innovative fat grafting procedures, and the emotional toll of navigating cleft care into adulthood. Together, Laura and Corinne discuss acid reflux as a lesser-known contributor to palatal repair failure, the trauma many adults carry from childhood surgeries, parenting while undergoing medical procedures, and why reframing "failure" as partial success can be life-changing. Corinne also provides updates on the Ensuring Lasting Smiles Act (ELSA), her advocacy work with Smile Train, and what cleft families and adults can do to navigate insurance, language, and long-term care. This episode is a must-listen for cleft parents, adults with cleft lip and palate, advocates, and anyone seeking hope, validation, and honest conversation about what the cleft journey can look like beyond childhood. Links: Buy Us a Coffee FB Support Group

People in this episode

Host: Laura Arroyo

Guest: Corinne

Topics covered

• cleft lip and palate
• medical journey
• advocacy
• parenting
• emotional toll
• insurance navigation

Keywords

• cleft journey
• surgeries
• advocacy work
• emotional toll
• parenting
• insurance
• hope
• validation

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Smile Train, Ensuring Lasting Smiles Act (ELSA)

More episodes of Our Forever Smiles with Laura Arroyo

• Grieving the Plan, Finding the Bond: A Cleft Mom's Honest Journey · May 5, 2026 · 1h 3m
• A Cleft Lip and Palate Diagnosis with a Rare Genetic Twist · April 28, 2026 · 59 min
• Bring Smiles Despite Miles: Turning a Cleft Journey Into Global Impact · April 21, 2026 · 39 min
• No Estamos Solas: Clefts, Comunidad y Recursos de Terapia del habla-lenguaje en Español · April 14, 2026 · 1h 23m
• Ava the Brava and Beyond: Advocacy, Representation, and Growing Up With a Cleft · April 7, 2026 · 51 min
• Mental Health, Motherhood, and a Surprise Cleft Diagnosis · March 31, 2026 · 42 min