Bruna: A Confident Mother

When Bruna Senhorinho realized that her first born son Nicolas was born with a cleft lip she had complete faith that he was going to be okay. She was sure because of her own past as a cleft patient and because she knew her son would receive quality and comprehensive care at Smile Train Partner hospital Associação Saúde Criança – Repensar.

Bruna has been a regular at Associação Saúde Criança – Repensar since receiving her own cleft surgeries there years ago. Her father said that the hospital skillfully led his family through difficulties in feeding and for years wouldn’t allow Bruna to miss one follow-up visit. As a child, Bruna says she was very shy because of her speech and wasn’t used to actively socializing with other children, "At that time I was afraid of the other kids making jokes about my voice."

After her 2013 graduation, Bruna decided to go to school to specialize in speech therapy to help other people with clefts. "Speech therapy changed my life and it helped me so much, I decided to specialize in it in order to help others with the same condition," she says.

Bruna had her first son Nicolas in 2014. The boy, who was also born with a cleft lip, has the full support of his parents and, with the experience that Bruna already had, the Associação Saúde Criança - Repensar has again become the family's choice for Nicolas’ treatment.

Nicolas received his cleft surgery from Smile Train partner Associação Saúde Criança – Repensar and he is doing very well. Bruna recently graduated from speech therapy school and is looking forward to helping children with clefts in Brazil.