Violet was born with a craniofacial anomaly so rare that there are almost no documented cases.
It’s called a Tessier cleft, and it leaves an opening in the bones of the face. In October 2014, the little girl traveled with her parents from a rural area of Oregon to Boston Children’s Hospital. There, plastic surgeon John Meara and neurosurgeon Mark Proctor spent nine hours in the operating room reshaping her face. That surgery changed her life.
Five years later, Violet is 6 years old and has boundless energy. She is in first grade alongside her twin sister, Cora. They love camping, horseback riding, going to the beach, and being surrounded by animals. And although they are the youngest of six siblings, the twins are in charge at home: “The older kids don’t realize how well the twins have them wrapped around their fingers”, her mom, Alicia, says.
Violet will always look a little different, and sometimes people don’t know how to react when they see her. She handles it with a smile that breaks the ice. Everyone in her town knows her and, according to her mother, Alicia, anyone who spends five minutes with her ends up loving her. Someday she’ll have to return to Boston for another surgery. For now, she’s busy with something else: enjoying herself.
