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Kelowna  

Mom finds solace in similarities

It was after an abnormally long ultrasound that Shauna Racich knew something was amiss.

The seemingly regular pregnancy became an inspiration for the Kelowna woman once she first discovered her unborn daughter would have a cleft lip and possibly a cleft palate.

"I was at work when the doctor called and said they have results [from the ultrasound] and I needed to come in," Racich says. "I was sweating; I thought there must be something wrong with her brain or her heart -- the big things.

"When he said my daughter will have a cleft lip, I was shocked at first; it's not often that you hear about things like that. I didn't think it was a common thing."

A cleft lip and palate is a congenital facial deformity caused by abnormalities during pregnancy. It only affects about 1 in 700 children and is often curable with surgery.  

"I was scared and worried for her, but she is the best thing in my life that has ever happened to me, so there's obviously light at the end of the tunnel," says Racich. "I had joined a support group, but it was based in the States and it was amazing; there was thousands of people in there. I was trying to find people and families closer to me because the US system is different."

Unable to find a local group, Racich founded the Facebook page BC's Cleft Babies to create a space where families could gather, share their knowledge and support one another.  

Racich says that even with the Facebook group, finding local families in the same boat has been difficult.

Emma, who will turn one on Dec. 10, has had two surgeries in the past year. Both have been performed at Kelowna General Hospital by a surgeon who Racich says was "awesome." 

In a random turn of cuteness, Racich has now adopted a puppy with the same condition as Emma -- they even have clefts on the same side.

Racich found the dog after being tagged in an ad on Facebook. 

"I thought 'I haven't, so far, been successful in finding other families' - which was disappointing because I wanted to help people - so when I saw the puppy I thought, 'maybe this is my option', to adopt and help her." 

Racich said the dog, named LC for Little Cleft, has helped her two other children gain an understanding of cleft lip and palate, which helps normalize the condition. 

"It's kind of cute in that sense. It shows the kids that this is something that happens. It's happened to their sister, to their puppy, so they've learned from it."

The baby and puppy do get along, however Emma is too young to understand that they share the same condition. 

"The biggest thing I've been trying to get through with this story is what can be scary in the beginning can turn out just fine. Everything will be OK. I was scared in the beginning, but I've learned so much from her and would not ask for it to be any other way." 



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