Donate your Facebook status through Sunday!

October 22nd, 2011

As you know, we have set up a fundraiser page on GiveForward.org to raise money for Franky's surgery next year. This weekend we are holding a Facebook fundraising drive to raise money for his surgery and to stimulate awareness about cleft babies. Did you know that one child in 700 is born with a cleft lip and/or palate?

Starting today through Sunday we’re asking everyone to update their status message to "Help Franky at www.giveforward.org/frankyminaglia." We need as many people updating their status message as possible reach 75% of our fundraising goal. We are already at 59%!!! Even if your friends might not know Franky or a cleft baby personally, please encourage them to ‘donate’ their status message. We have included links on his Give Forward site for more information on cleft lip and palate. Thank you for helping us spread the word!

Woohoo! We have raised 43% of our goal! Thank you!

October 15th, 2011

To our beloved Franky Minaglia supporters, From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you for the love and support that you continue to show us through this journey with baby Franky. If he could speak, we are certain he would thank you himself. Your generous contributions have already allowed us to reached 43% of our fundraising goal needed for his cleft palate surgery next year! The funds will be used to cover our annual insurance deductible/maximum out -of pocket responsibility which is hefty given we are still paying for this year’s medical expenses. There are not enough words to thank you for your prayers, contributions, and for sharing our story with others. We used to think this phrase was cliché, and didn’t understand it until now, but it truly takes a village to raise a child. On to news about the little guy…Franky is healing very well from the cleft lip and nose repair surgery he underwent early last month. The scars on his little face are still healing, but we can tell that they will fade in due time. He will most likely need to have a second surgery at the age of 3 to improve the shape of his nose and upper lip. There is some flatness in the shape of his nose, but this is not atypical of cleft lip babies due to the shortened cartilage bone that runs the length of the nose. He will need a stent or bridge placed to lift his nose and even out the shape of his right and left nostrils. His recent visit to the orthopedist was good. His wrist and foot are positioning well. At birth his left wrist was bent in and his left foot was bent up (similar to clubbed). The brace on his foot is working so well that he may not need surgery on it in the future. The wrist on the other hand, looks like it will need surgery in the future. They will begin to assess him for that surgery at about of 6 or 7 years of age. His next surgical adventure is in December, ear tubes. Luckily, this is the easiest of all the surgeries he will go through and will only be a 15 minute procedure. The only bummer is that he will have to be put under anesthesia again. He will have several sets of ear tubes placed over time. The ear tubes will allow the pressure between his inner and outer ear to equalize. It will also allow the current build up of fluid to drain out. What else??? Well, we could write a novel on Franky’s five month life experience, but will keep other details for future updates on him and as things progress. We would love to hear from you, so give a call or shoot us an email when you have time. Maraming salamat & mille gracie, The Minaglia Family