Dear Special-Needs Parents: We're Being Duped by a Faulty Healthcare System

Cynthia Murphy | Craniofacial-Vegan Activist |

Cynthia Murphy (Treacher Collins) and Sophie (Pfeiffer Syndrome)

Have you noticed the increase of chronic illness among children and adults with disabilities? I’ve seen countless families torn apart and derailed after being left on the trail of devastation. Sadly, many of these grief-stricken people have been affected to such a degree, all ties have been broken, and now their children are no longer with us.

It’s heartbreaking to bear witness to these parents trying to cope with the death of a child while longing for what should have been. A parent’s worst fear is outliving their children. It’s even especially painful for these families living with immense regret and guilt that they didn’t do enough.
We are often left to suffer health disparities due to craniofacial anomalies, a rare genetic disease that causes severe internal and external bodily malformations. Chronic illnesses are inevitable.

The reality is that we’ve been deceived and failed by many of our own specialist doctors within a misleading healthcare system.

I first noticed the staggering increase of child craniofacial-related deaths last year while assisting Dr. Justine Lee of UCLA to gather participants for a study involving a rare genetic craniofacial condition known as Saethre-Chotzen Syndrome.

I increased my networking efforts by joining hundreds of groups and amassed my friends list to nearly three thousand. I’ve had personal conversations with almost everyone, and I don’t add friends I can’t verify. However, I’ve learned the tragic challenges that many of these shattered families face.

R.I.P. Kip Ryder (Saethre-Chotzen Syndrome

Every day when I open my Facebook, generally the first thing I see is a child suffering from chronic disease attributed to their craniofacial disorder. In moments of apprehension and fear, parents often post their experiences, including graphic images. They reach out in hopes of securing guidance from other parents who’ve endured the same experience.

Many parents are aware of the hundreds of craniofacial support groups available, and so they utilize them to help answer questions that their doctors won’t.

Mother Beverley Harry admits that a nutritional diet led the way to excellent health for her nine-year-old daughter, Becca, who was born with a rare form of Crouzon’s Syndrome. “It’s been a journey fighting doctors for information about nutrition because it goes against their practice and they aren’t knowledgeable on the subject,” she says. “I chose to take control of my child’s health and ditched doctor care, and I only utilize our medical doctor when needed for surgeries, etc.”

Beverley affirms that it’s our responsibility to look after our children’s health. She’s had numerous doctors misinform her and prescribe ineffective and even harmful medications. Things have dramatically improved since changing her daughter’s diet including the use of pure colloidal silver, a miraculous naturopathic mineral healing agent.

Becca now no longer needs physio or occupational therapy as she’s gained tremendous strength, and all development delays have significantly improved.

I was born with Treacher Collins Syndrome, and I’ve also been a victim of this flawed healthcare system. October 2015, I nearly died in the Utah Mountains landing myself in the Salt Lake City Hospital for a week. I was found blue and foaming at the mouth, and after the incident, my oxygen levels dropped to the low sixties during my sleep. Doctors couldn’t figure out what was wrong, so I was discharged with a severe sleep apnea diagnosis.

I’m awaiting a second major jaw reconstruction surgery due to severely restricted airways and because the first one was unsuccessful. I was informed that the first jaw surgery failed because I was too young and undeveloped at age nineteen.

One year following my near-death experience I became plagued with several chronic illnesses including eye infections, acute infectious sinusitis, digestive issues, enlarged spleen, oozing Baha infections, headaches, constipation, hemorrhoids, chronic fatigue, and progressive periodontal disease. Also, I have four braces, for my wrists and knees due to advanced arthritis and problematic muscle and ligament pain involving cracking and popping joints.

One of the most significant challenges I’ve overcome is suffering from four to six monthly chronic bladder and yeast infections. At one point, I was on my menstrual period for nearly two months.

That is when I discovered that prescription drugs are incredibly detrimental to the body.

These pills are not natural earth substances. They are harmful man-made compounds that are far from curing illness. The acclaimed documentaries American Addict reveal the pharmaceutical trade and how many Americans are being affected today.

Last year I made a choice to walk away from all prescription drugs, and my husband and I decided to adopt herbalism and organic vegan diets. Both of us endured different illnesses. My husband, a disabled USMC veteran and PTSD sufferer, was diagnosed obese and pre-diabetic, and I was taking more than fourteen prescription drugs for numerous ailments including depression. Nothing worked, and I felt so sick that I couldn’t function. I relied on narcotics for pain and anxiety. For years, I had been questioning why every prescription gave me more problems. One medication regularly led to three more.

I’ve accumulated so many pills over the years that I could submerge my entire body with them, literally.

I felt my body failing and my mentality slipping while being trapped in a clout of destructive thoughts. I was even headed towards a hysterectomy at age thirty-one, because of birth control pills I’d taken for over fifteen years.

The quality of my life has vastly improved since I’ve discontinued taking medication.

I’m here to tell you that we live in a sick care system that is devised as a complex maze that has us clambering out to referred specialists who can’t answer our questions. They deny nutrition and instead use the power of their pen.

This process leaves us feeling exhausted, especially when the costs associated with taking time off work and traveling far distances drain our bank accounts.

Many of us are startlingly aware of the health epidemic taking over our country, and it’s not just the craniofacial community either. It’s America. Our country is ranked as having the lowest food qualities in the world. There are toxic chemicals and GMOs allowed in our foods that other countries don’t allow.

This particularly affects us in the craniofacial realm because naturally our bodies are more sensitive. However, make no mistake, the ongoing sick-care epidemic is affecting everyone everywhere.
Evidence of this has been documented in the groundbreaking films What the Health, Forks Over Knives, and Hungry for Change, all available on Netflix.

Please take some time to educate yourself on holistic health practices and organic veganism for the sake of discovering complete wellness for you and your children. We deserve better than this, and it’s during these times we need to support each other the most.

In addition to my advocacy for craniofacial differences, my husband, Thane, and I built a charitable reference and recipe app named Assuaged to help guide families find safe foods and products to buy. We founded Assuaged on the concept of the Blue Zone movement and in the region of Loma Linda, California—one of only five geographical areas in the world and the only one in the United States.
Research studies and several news reports have established that blue zone residents maintain supreme health and live past the age of one hundred.

We are passionately seeking to bridge the gap between healthcare and self-care to meet the needs of healthy living as a method for longevity. We’re going beyond charity and unifying people through love and compassion.

Assuaged is now available to download for FREE via iOS.

Cynthia Today at Optimal Health | The Murphys Happily Married 11+ Yrs | Thane, USMC 2004

What the Controversial 'Wonder' Publicity Campaign Demonstrates About Craniofacial Equality

I understand why many are offended by the “Real-life Auggie” campaign being promoted by the film “Wonder,” adapted from R.J. Palacio’s New York Times bestseller of the same title. People feel as if they are being presented as a circus animal or behind a glass cage. When I first heard this metaphor, it sent razor-sharp shivers down my spine. We are people, not commodities.

While I firmly believe there is no ill-will intended by this campaign, it does not send the appropriate message. And it’s painfully excruciating to hear how this affects others. My friend and advocate Ann Piesen, born with Treacher Collins Syndrome states, “I’m concerned as it creates the impression that I’m being observed. We are not a novelty because of a movie.”

Initially, all I could think was, what is happening to our society and why haven’t we reached a level of mainstream equality yet?

I believe that this film has a powerful opportunity to raise much-needed awareness, and I’ve become grateful for its existence through the many relationships I’ve formed during its promotion. It’s natural for viewers to want to meet real people, because that’s how we can watch and authentically relate to the truths portrayed on screen. Personal experience is reality, and we can’t lose sight of that.

I’ve been advocating for awareness for over two years now, and I regularly speak with several families online who are hesitant for any craniofacial organizational involvement due to several different factors including fear of exploitation, further stigmatization, and money. I’ve retained the “Erin Brockovich” label in the craniofacial community as I work to provide valuable information, connections, and resources while maintaining confidentiality with these families, many of whom I carry meaningful relationships with. Most are aware that I work strictly as an awareness advocate and I do not promote fundraising or self-gratifying surgeries.

My goal is to foster community collaboration and awareness efforts so we can enact the real change needed.

I support many organizations for their awareness efforts, because without them we wouldn’t be here today. I am especially supportive of the annual retreats and events provided by the Children's Craniofacial Association. I have close friends now that I wouldn’t have had before.

While I don’t see any intentional acts of degradation in the campaign for of this movie, I understand why some find it offensive. Many seek to protect their children and to feel equal to everyone else. The craniofacial community is often sensitive, and rightfully so. We must collaboratively affirm our awareness actions and seek to protect each other in a compassionately equal and logical manner.

Our faces may reveal a physicality some can’t understand or relate to, but we mustn’t forget to express that we are people too. Like anyone else, we have thoughts and feelings deeply connected to the roots of our souls. We’re unique and competent individuals seeking to passionately experience our lives. Many of us have impressive educational skills and qualities that are missed because we’re often taken at face value.

Several medical research studies document that children born with craniofacial abnormalities typically have average intelligence. However, due to widespread stigma, too many people assume otherwise. There is so much value, worthiness, and beauty beneath the surface of our faces.

I can easily name dozens of individuals born with mild to severe craniofacial anomalies and their success stories. These individuals are government employees, writers, doctors, models, therapists, actors, educators, artists, singers, mechanics, nurses and more. We’re here to show everyone that we are not the stigma of our disability or defined by incapabilities.

We have exceptional talents within us all, but we must fight to find them together. We must supersede our fears and act bravely to accomplish what we desire in our lives. No fictional movie or book can achieve what we can together in the form of our collective voices!I hope you can resonate with my words because we're all in this together.

For more information on our collaborative efforts in raising further craniofacial awareness, please join us on Facebook at Craniofacial Support and Resources.

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READ: A recent medical study 'Children with craniofacial conditions face most difficult social pressures in elementary school' research by specialist Dr. Justine Lee of UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital
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Published via The Mighty
Read More Articles written by Cynthia Murphy
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Article references 'Wonder' the book written by R. J. Palacio and Lionsgate upcoming film starring Julia Roberts, Jacob Tremblay and Owen Wilson

How I Found My Voice as an Advocate for Treacher Collins Syndrome

I wasn’t born an advocate for Treacher Collins syndrome (TCS), and if anyone had asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up (which few people did), it would have been the last thing to cross my mind. Like others with disabilities, I was just trying to survive and lead a normal life by pursuing my educational studies and working full time.

Later, I advocated for my friends and family because I had a law background and they didn’t. I did legal paperwork, helped get financial aid for students and wrote any number of letters to help any number of people. Yet I still didn’t consider myself an advocate, especially since a lot of what I did was an attempt to buy friendships.

Someone told me recently that she could not connect with others who had Treacher Collins. I think I might have been the same way when I was younger. I didn’t want to be in the Treacher Collins world. I wanted to be in the “normal” one. Unfortunately, the people in that world, most of them anyway, were the ones who judged. They couldn’t understand our differences; and in all honesty, we couldn’t fully relate to them either.

This year, I met two people older than I who have established careers and who are comfortable with who they are. They don’t care if other people are looking at them, and they made me question why I still do sometimes. Although our stories are different, they inspired me. About the same time I met them, I started posting articles and videos on social media. Immediately I heard from hundreds of people saying that I am an inspiration to them. Now, I get it. Advocacy is about awareness. It’s the bigger picture. It’s about relating to others in more ways than one.

There weren’t any books on craniofacial differences when I was growing up. I had no advocates. Thus, I was essentially alone in a sad, depressing world. I wanted to be part of so many things, and I couldn’t. Getting picked last for baseball or group projects in art, history, or drama is a horrible feeling. It happened to me all the time, and I hated it.  

When I advocate for Treacher Collins, I’m doing it for everyone who has ever suffered those feelings of inadequacy and exclusion. And I’m doing it for me.

Yes, I’m afraid sometimes. And no, I can’t always separate myself from the criticism I receive. When you’ve experienced ridicule, the last thing you want to do is speak out publicly and leave yourself vulnerable to criticism. Still, I feel I have a voice that stems from my experience, and I am committed to making it heard.

No one “kind of” has Treacher Collins — just as no one “kind of” gets bullied, “kind of” gets discriminated against, or “kind of” suffers from insecurities and depression as a result of all those. No one is “kind of” an outcast.

I’m advocating for the person who maybe only has the distinctive eye shape. I’m advocating for the young person facing his or her 30th surgery. I’m advocating for the people who, like me, have to function simultaneously between a sound and silent world.

I’m advocating for myself, and I’m advocating for you.

Article originally appeared on The Mighty, a website where people with disabilities, diseases and mental illness share their stories

Article republished on CCA Kids Blog "Growing Into Advocacy" and also republished on the Megan Meier Foundation Blog 

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"When I Auditioned for 'America's Next Top Model'"

When Nyle DiMarco was named “America’s Next Top Model” in the show’s season finale in December, he was the first deaf contestant to win a $100,000 contract. While the hit show was scheduled for cancellation, this particular win ignited a national response and reaction to his success, and now the show will continue. There is no mistaking the fact that the fashion industry tends to disregard diversity.

As I watched DiMarco’s recent victory, I remembered back to 2009, as I stood with a group of other women getting ready to audition for ANTM. My friends couldn’t believe I went through with it considering I was born with Treacher Collins syndrome, a craniofacial disorder. Many of us born with Treacher Collins look at our faces and see a puzzle full of pieces that will never fit. We see a disaster. We see a miserable childhood full of bullying and a life of insecurity and anger. We’re tormented at school, ignored by the opposite sex and we usually resort to various facial surgeries to repair what doesn’t work (such as physical appearance, hearing and speech) and to make ourselves look more like the people we want to fit in with. When I auditioned for that show, I had already been through more than 10 cosmetic surgeries, and my friends told me I was pretty. But was I pretty by the standards of “normal?” As I approached that large auditorium in Los Angeles, wearing four-inch heels and a black cocktail dress, I signed in and joined the other women.

I tried making small talk, but nobody looked at nor spoke to me. Some snickered. I felt alone and stupid for being there, but I was determined to go through with the process. Finally, my group was called. We all stood against the wall, and judges walked up to us and took notes as we turned from side to side. Finally, they called the numbers of the ones who would go onto the next stage. My number wasn’t one of them. Although I lied to others about how far I made it in the process, I couldn’t lie to myself.

Now, as I watched a deaf male win, I realized he was picked, not by judges, but by the power of the people through social media, similar to the way the winners of “American Idol” are selected. I take this as positive for those of us who don’t fit the stereotype of attractive. When the people vote for what is beautiful, perhaps they will see something that fashion-industry professional judges miss.

Society today is seeking inspiration as a result of difference, and even though many of us are different, that doesn’t make us incapable of pursuing the same career goals as anyone else. There is a desire and need for diversity and more inclusive beauty standards in the fashion industry. If the definition of an authentic role model stems from all-inclusiveness, then why isn’t the industry setting an example to be all-inclusive? Why would I subscribe to a magazine full of models who are deemed the true definition of beauty, when I can never aspire to be in in that category?

We live in a world of difference, a world that so far, has not often been represented in the modeling and entertainment industries. This prejudice carries over to the professional world, where people with facial disorders want to be accepted and looked at based on our own merits.

Although I dropped out of high school, I was fortunate enough to work for one of the largest law firms in the state. The first attorney I worked for encouraged me to return to school, and I earned my associate’s and then my bachelor’s degree and graduated with honors. I have nearly completed my master’s and am studying for the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT). For the past nine years, I have been married to a good man who sees and loves the real me.

No, I won’t be auditioning for ANTM soon, but I hope that someone — many someones— with craniofacial disorders will be. I hope the perception of beauty transcends the limitations of the past and becomes more inclusive. I remember how the other contestants derided DiMarco because of his deafness, because he lived in a world of silence and was different, because, as they said, he would never fit into the high-stakes world he so aspired to join. With tears in my eyes, I heard his name called and watched his face light up in disbelief and overwhelming happiness when the American Sign Language interpreter translated the announcement of his win.

What is beauty? Here’s what I think. I think the perception of beauty changes. It always has, and it always will. Beauty is not only what is on the outside; it’s the inside that radiates on that outside. It’s a lot of people who never before had a chance. It is all of us who keep saying, “Here we are. Look at us.”

Article originally appeared on The Mighty, a website where people with disabilities, diseases and mental illness share their stories

Article also republished via Disabled World and Megan Meier Foundation Blog

Join our online community to find upcoming Craniofacial Events and Gatherings nearest you

 

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