Note: The picture is illustrative!
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, resulting in years of struggle with achieving 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 Clinic 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.
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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.
Project Results:
We are thrilled to share some excellent news with you! You might remember Raimo’s story – we raised funds for his mouth and lower jaw surgeries in Finland. We are pleased to announce that on August 1st, Raimo underwent a successful lip and palate surgery. During the procedure, an alveolar bone graft was performed, which closed a 0.5 cm gap in his palate.
Our heartfelt gratitude to all the donors who believed in our project and helped make it happen, despite the fact that Raimo’s photo was missing. Raimo is feeling well and is very happy and grateful. He wishes to convey his sincere thanks: “Thank you all from the bottom of my heart. I couldn’t believe that so many were willing to donate. I am extremely grateful that, thanks to you, we made it to Finland, where I received life-changing help.”
Special thanks go to the Finnish surgeon Jyri Huukka and Dr. Riina Einblaut, who prepared Raimo both physically and mentally. We also thank Raimo’s supporters Liina and Janno Rokk, whose support and dedication helped launch this project.
Now we turn our attention to the next surgery, which will involve extensive facial-jaw and nasal correction. The surgery is planned for the end of this year or the beginning of next year, depending on Raimo’s health. We have already collected part of the necessary amount, but we still need additional support. The cost of the upcoming surgery is 34,000 euros, which is essential for improving Raimo’s facial structure, speech, self-esteem, and quality of life.
It is possible that after the second surgery, a third operation for speech correction may be necessary, but this is relatively simple and not very costly.
If all three surgeries are successful, there is hope that Raimo will be able to speak, eat, and drink like any other person within a year.
A big thank you once again to everyone who has contributed and helped improve Raimo’s health and quality of life. Together we can achieve more!
