Wearing a scarf around her head and resting her cheek on a bible, Mercy Egbe, 35, was in a ward at the Cleft and Facial Deformity Foundation Centre, Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city, waiting for the return of her daughter from the surgical theatre.
The mother of four had travelled from Ore, Ondo State, a day before to get a surgical procedure for her three years old Sharon.
Sharon was born with a cleft lip, a condition resulting in a split in the upper lip that extends to the nose. It is one of the most common birth defects globally.
Ms Egbe told PREMIUM TIMES how she had hoped for a miracle for the past three years of her daughter’s life.
“Her father was the first to notice the opening on her lips a few hours after she was born,” she said, recalling the struggle of having a child with a cleft lip.
Mercy Egbe, whose daughter Sharon was born with a cleft lipMs Egbe said in less than three days after Sharon’s birth, words had travelled around their community that she…
