Episode 2 with Guest Alli Trickey

Beyond the Diagnosis: A Mother’s Journey Through Cleft Lip & Palate Surgeries | Voices of Hope Ep. 2 In episode two of Voices of Hope, host Christina Myrkle talks with Alli Trickey, a Central Arkansas wife, mom, business owner, and Mrs. Arkansas America contestant, about raising her son Dosson, who was diagnosed in utero with a cleft lip and palate. Ally describes the shock and grief at the 21-week ultrasound, educating herself through Arkansas Children’s Hospital’s cleft team, and navigating early feeding challenges with specialized bottles, taping, and NICU time. She outlines Dosson’s surgeries—lip repair at four months, palate repair around 13 months, later nasal and dental procedures, and a recent bone graft that was the most difficult due to his age, a liquid diet, and weight loss. Ally emphasizes prayer, family and online community support, transparency on social media, the coordinated multidisciplinary cleft clinic model, and her own struggles with pregnancy loss and turning to food, encouraging listeners to “bloom where you’re planted” and find hope through advocacy and self-care. 00:00 Strangers Praying Online 00:17 Podcast Welcome And Guest 01:58 Diagnosis And Learning Curve 03:30 Family Support And Sharing 04:35 Shock At Ultrasound 07:39 Research And Cleft Team Plan 08:22 Feeding Wins In NICU 09:57 Taping And Early Care 13:27 First Lip Repair Surgery 15:58 Prayer And Waiting Room Support 19:08 Recovery And Growing Complexity 20:47 Surgery Timeline And Bone Graft 25:00 More Surgeries Ahead 25:31 First Solid Food 26:23 Mom Identity Shift 29:13 Binge Eating Realization 31:31 Turning Point to Change 35:41 Public Curiosity and School 39:09 Cleft Team Care Model 41:43 Donations and Wish Lists 43:21 What I Wish I Knew 46:20 Finding Support Community 48:12 Camp Laughter Connections 50:14 Bloom Where Planted 52:58 Final Thanks and Subscribe