Hi Guys,

After talking with Tania and Olle, about my some of my experiences of been born cleft, In my final year of highschool 2002, for my english major assignment, we had to write an auto-biography, i took the opportunity to really tell my life story and how been a cleft palate dude has shaped me into who i am today.

It was based around the TV SHow: This is your life, so its in that context of a host and people that have been apart of my life come out and say something about me, i hope this shares with parents, individuals on how my life has been an amazing one because i was born cleft.

it is a little long, so might wanna grab a cuppa!. lol.

hope you enjoy :D

Autobiography
Host: Ok this person tonight has gone through so much, however kept his chin up and helped others along the way making an impact on there lives. At the moment he is about to present a video on his school assembly, although he doesn’t know it has been all set up for us to go in. Let’s go in.
Tony Doring this is your life!

Mum: You are found in the Rockhampton hospital on the 19th of September 1985. You were brought into a loving, caring family.
Host: However, been only a short time on this planet of ours your problems started right then and there. Been found born cleft palate came to a shock to your family, but they put that aside knowing no matter what, your 2 older brothers, mum and dad were still going to love you and care for you through every step of your life
I have found myself grateful for been brought into such a loving family that have faced many problems with me, but either way still find the light. The amount of love and care that my family has given me is unbelievable.

Doctor Mcguckin: Spending a few weeks in hospital after birth, you were given the kindness and generosity of the nurses which they fell in love with you.
Host: You were finally brought home in the town of Ingham were your family lived on a farm. It was only a short time until you were taking into hospital again where your mother had fallen sick and you had to be taking care of. Yet again, you were brought home only for a short time until you were taken down to Brisbane where you had the first of your many operations. And made it back just in time for Christmas.
I can’t believe that to this day I have had 26 operations; it’s unbelievable that this has happened to me. I lay on my bed at nights thinking, why me? What have I done? But I guess bad things always happen to good people. The look of my face as I see myself in the mirror only makes me think, is this all worth it or oh my god is that me?
Doctor: Your life remained the same, in and out of hospitals, operation after operation, visiting every 3 months for 5 years. Your family found you to be an outgoing child, who would tell the other children in hospital to don’t be afraid and that it will be ok.
My mother says that the doctors foretold that when I grow up I can either be a cheerful, outgoing kid or shy, down in the dumps most of the time, and I really don’t think I am in that category. I always find myself lucky as I look back on the amount of pain I have gone through, but then look at other children and find myself extremely lucky.

Host: After the constant visits to the hospitals all over Queensland, it started to ease up, but still the hard yards were ahead in your life. 1990 saw the time after moving from Cairns to Mackay were you attend Andergrove State School from grades 1-3.
Grandma: In 1995 saw the sad death of one of your closets family friends Cole Marr, he was there for you and your family when you needed him most.
It came a huge shock to me as he died, however I think now that he did have problems with his heart but it is probably for the best. He will always be close to my heart. His smile will always stick in my mind.
Dad: After moving house in 1993 you attended St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School form grades 4-7. In the time you were at St Joseph’s, grade 6 was one of the hardest years for yourself and your family. It was the time of your major operation.
I cried myself to sleep at times, scared to death and I found myself lucky I had such a great group of friends and family to support me, especially Melinda, Matt and Mitch, they have believed in me and stood beside me through the tough times. I have so many people that support me, and I appreciate that, however when people say ‘ I know’ I reply by saying, you wouldn’t know, so many of my friends have normal lives, I really don’t think they would know what would hit them if they had what I have. I hate the smell of hospitals; the smell of the operating theatres just makes me have a flashback of all the times I’ve been in there. My stomach sometimes can not take it.
Doctor: It took 4 and ½ hours to complete the reconstruction of your jaw, nose and taking bone marrow from your hip that built up the jaw and pushing up the left nostril. The palate, lips were worked on as well, and five teeth were also taken out to complete the major operation.
Host: The bone marrow that was taken from your hip was given to child who needed bone marrow for reasons that your family was not told. It was the way the hospital system worked.
One day I would like to meet the person who I helped out, I found out they were a leukemic patient. Just to see the face I helped maybe saved their life, just to feel that something I have done through my life has been worth while to someone else. From having the major operation, I had no other choice but to miss half of the year off school.

Doctor Egan: After the major operation it was not long until you were found yet again in hospital for another operation for your face and ears. After finding that my ears had no ear drums, they found you had constant trouble with your ears.
I just couldn’t understand why I have so many things wrong with me, can’t everything be alright just for once. I kept asking these questions: When will everything be alright? Why me? You know I feel like why I had this happen to me, I don’t wish it on anyone else but why did it happen to me.

Host: 1998 saw the first year of your high school years. You were found to be a bit self consciences as looking like the way you were, made you feel in secure of what other people would say about you. Constant teasing and weird looks were a part of your life through grades 8 and 9. However, after building a great group of friends you found enough confidence within yourself to stand up for yourself and don’t take anything from anyone. This continued on through grade 10,
Ms O’Keefe: where the school, Mercy College, was holding a School musical, which you stared in as one of the lead roles.
I loved every minute of doing this, I made new friends and been on stage I really liked. My parents found it to be a bit of a shock that I took interest into a school musical and found that you would or maybe be found on stage for only 5 seconds, but the bigger shock was when my family were told that I had a lead role. The night came, it was only me and someone else on stage, we both forgot our lines, and being me I turned to the audience and apologised to them. I couldn’t believe I did that.
Host: This built up your confidence within yourself to believe in yourself to do whatever you mind sets yourself to that you can do it.

Certain songs have made me believe in myself, no matter what anyone says. A Song for example is: Mariah Carey- They Can’t Take That Away. The lyrics are inspirational certain lines such as:

They can say anything they want to say
Try to bring me down
But I will not allow
Anyone to succeed
Hanging clouds over me
And they can try hard to make me feel
That I don’t matter all
But I refuse to falter
In what I believe
Or lose faith in my dreams
That song I apply to my life, people have tried to make me feel like I’m nothing at all, but I still go on believing in myself no matter what they say and to follow my dream.

Host: Grade eleven and twelve came around, it was an amazing feeling that only two years left of school. St Pat’s was a huge change from mercy, but you quickly adapted and fitted into the school well.
Mr Lawler: Grade eleven started off very well, when you achieved what you didn’t think you ever could, by obtaining a position on the student council.
Neil Kempe: You really enjoyed doing this as my leadership skills had built since you had been involved in the Sarina Youth Council.
The youth council gave me direction in my life, as one of my things to do was to help people less fortunate and helping people in general. The youth council gave me this opportunity. The Youth centre is more a less a second home, I walk in there and feel welcome, and that I have accomplished something for others.

Finally, it came around. My last ever operation. But yes there was a catch; there is always a dam catch. It was in the last week of school, I was forced to miss the elections for the leaders of 2002, I didn’t really miss this, and however the thing I dearly missed was my only ever Semi-formal. I couldn’t believe it, I cried so much, I still remember the tears flowing down my face. I really wanted to be with my friends as I love them all, they have treated me so good. While I was in hospital, previously I had made a video for the elections of the leaders. It was put on video and yes it could only stuff up, apparently all you could hear were crows squawking in the background. I thought I didn’t have a chance, but knowing that I thought ‘well what the hell’. Thursday, the day after the operation, the mobile rang; I had received a message from matt, saying:
Congrats, you Mitch, Ruth and Bern are our new leaders for 2002. Act surprised when Lawler rings.
I was stunned, I woke up mum yelling ‘mum mum, I got it, I got it’ Mum was so proud of me, and I was proud of myself. The nurse thought there was something wrong, she ran in saying ‘what’s wrong, what’s wrong?’ I just laughed.
After a week in hospital, it was all over. I walked out of hospital thinking, that’s it, NO MORE. I remember having a smile from one ear to the other.

My life had been really awesome, up until four or 5 months later. I began to think something was wrong. I didn’t mention anything to mum and dad, due to the only reason I was scared of what was going to happen. I just started to think ‘Nothing is wrong’ more or less in denial. I couldn’t hold it in anymore, I had to tell them, and now, another operation on the table. I saw the doctor and he said ‘this will be the last one’, but I just replied ‘I do not believe that, I believed that last time and now my hopes have been crushed’. But i realise that there is someone always worse off than me, and that it is a true blessing that i have been born with such a beutiful gift, the gift of positive attitude, the gift of such great friends, the gift of a beutiful family, the gift of a great smile which makes me a clefty!

My Family: Through your hard life, you still with every hurdle in your life, have come out on top and kept your chin up.
Tony Doring this is Your Life!

I hope you have enjoyed this, take it easy guys, and always here for a chat.