Camille, My Camille

It is every couple's prayer that their would-be children would be born normal i.e., without any physical or mental anomalies. We were no exception. But as fate would have it, our second child, Camille, would be born with congenital deformities. She had cleft palate and bilateral cleft lip. You could just imagine the emotional and mental anguish my wife suffered from the day she learned about the condition of our baby who was diagnosed with such deformities when she was still six months in her mother's womb. I had to be strong for my wife so I could somehow alleviate her suffering. When Camille was finally delivered, she had another abnormality which was not detected by the ultrasound.