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Fifteen-year old Alyssa Hatch of Westfield, NJ, is no stranger to
overcoming difficulties. As a three-day old infant with a cleft lip
and palate, she was referred for reparative surgery to Dr. David Lange
and Dr. Cyrus Amato of the Saint Barnabas Regional Craniofacial Center
in Livingston, NJ, a part of the Saint Barnabas Ambulatory Care Center.
Today, with several surgeries under her belt, Hatch is giving back
to the Craniofacial Center with a book that illustrates growing up
with a cleft lip and palate. This book is also a Girl Scout project
that must take 65 hours to finish and when completed, will earn her
the Gold Award, the highest honor offered in the Girl Scouts.
The book details the story of a dolphin named Shannon Swimfin and
her experiences with cleft lip and palate. From the time of Shannon’s
birth to clinic visits, hearing and speech evaluation, and subsequent
bone graph, author and illustrator Hatch brings children through a
journey of growing up with cleft lip and palate.
“I’ve always wanted to do something for others with cleft
lip and palate and I’ve always enjoyed writing books,” said
Hatch. “As a child, I wrote books and gave them to family members
as presents.”
The main character, Shannon Swimfin, was inspired by a trip to Sea
World and her general love of dolphins. “I’ve been drawing
dolphins since I was five years old when I learned about them in Kindergarten,” said
Hatch.
Hatch
has also volunteered at the Craniofacial Center
in Livingston for the past year and is working
on another project for the Center—a
brochure for children with cleft lip and palate
and their families. Her favorite part of this
project is visiting the new Speech department
located at the Atkins Kent building in West Orange. “Working
in speech, language and pathology is something
I am considering for future,” said Hatch.
A
sophomore at Westfield High School, Hatch volunteers
for Operation Smile, a not-for-profit medical
organization that provides cleft lip and palate
repair for children worldwide. She is a member
of the cross country and track teams and has
been playing the violin for six years.
Hatch is the oldest of four children. Her parents,
Tom and Gail, are both physical therapists and continue to show support
and encouragement for Alyssa. For the future, she plans to follow in
her parent’s footsteps to become a physical therapist or to work
with children in some way.
Date: September 29, 2008
Contact: Angela Kessler, Director Public Relations & Marketing
973-322-4927
akessler@sbhcs.com
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