I struggled with my cleft as a child - but now I am proud of my scar

Edinburgh woman Matilda Lansdown, 34, who works in hair and beauty, talks about her life with a cleft lip and palate, and her work with global children's cleft charity, Smile Train, to mark Cleft Awareness Week, which runs until Saturday.

- by Kevin Quinn

Growing up I underwent 15-20 serious surgeries because of my cleft, the first when I wasn't even one year old and the last at 21. I struggled to eat and speak "normally" - which made life at school particularly challenging.

I went between hospitals in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Birmingham for surgeries as some doctors and surgeons didn't know how to tackle the next stage of my care. It was a lot for a young girl. I felt like a guinea pig.

It was a weird time, because I didn't have anything to compare what I was going through to, but I always knew that everything that was happening to me didn't feel normal.

I'm a twin, non-identical. I love my sister dearly, but growing up it was a constant reminder of my condition. I was always thinking, "Why is this happening to me and not her?" I always felt like I wasn't "normal", but what is normal?

We have two older sisters also, and now we're all grown up I think my experience of cleft has helped everybody. We are empathetic and like to help people - one is a teacher and another is a nurse.