Susi Sadler
Susi's page
Fundraising for Operation Smile United Kingdom
Story
Thank you so much for checking out my JustGiving page. If you haven't already, please take a look at my blog on the Mongol Derby, website for more information about the race and the charities.
Update Sept '10
So, I survived the Mongol Derby! It was a fantastic experience; very tough but also beautiful, incredible and an amazing sense of achievement. Most of all, I'm glad that I've turned something negative into something incredibly positive - through all of your donations we've now provided Operation Smile with the money they need to give 40 children brand new Smiles. Thank you to everyone who has donated so far. You can read all about my Mongol Derby experience on my BLOG.
Update Aug '10
YES! I've met my target! Thanks so much to all who've donated! Please keep on donating to Operation Smile to help as many children as possible.
My Story
“I was so lucky to benefit from fantastic surgery and treatment after a bad facial injury when I fell from my horse last year. I can’t believe there are children with cleft lips and palates who need surgery even more than I did, and who sadly don’t have access to it.
I’ve decided to do whatever I can to change this. 'Whatever I can' seems to mean getting back in the saddle and racing 600 miles across Mongolia to raise money for Operation Smile."
You might think the blow to the head did more damage than the doctors picked up on...
- and you might be right.
As some of you will know, I suffered a pretty horrific riding accident in 2009. It is only thanks to some very talented guys at the Leeds General Infirmary that I still have the use of the left hand side of my face. After five hours of emergency surgery I emerged with my face carefully re-attached to my skull (yuck, sorry!) and feeling extremely grateful to have benefited from some of the best expertise and technology in the world, absolutely free of charge.
Not everyone in the world is as lucky as me. Every two and a half minutes, a child is born with a cleft lip or palate, and many are not fortunate enough to have access to the surgery they need.
It’s been a long recovery. I suffered nerve damage (for which I am still undergoing electrotherapy) which meant I lost the use of one side of my face and mouth. This, coupled with a lot of swelling, badly torn gums, loosened teeth and approximately 60 stitches inside my mouth, made eating, drinking and even talking a real challenge.
Those of you who know me will truly understand how difficult it was for me to survive two weeks when the only manageable meals were cup-a-soups consumed through a straw! I lost a stone in weight. It was a month before I was able to ditch the supply of drinking straws from my handbag and drink normally again; even longer before I was eating solid food and brushing my teeth (the Corsodyl antibacterial mouthwash had become my close friend!). After six months I could finally eat an apple.
Avoiding cameras and covering my mouth when I smiled became my norm. Even people I was close to found it hard to know how to react, strangers just stared.
I feel so fortunate that, nearly a year on, my scar is fading and my nerve function is slowly improving. I can eat, drink and smile again and my confidence is increasing all the time.
Children born with a cleft face problems most of us could never imagine experiencing. It only takes £150 and 45 minutes to change a life forever.
After my accident, I wasn't sure I'd want to get on a horse again. Now, almost a year on, I'm not only back in the saddle, but also preparing to ride 620 miles (1000 km in new money - or the distance from Leeds to Geneva!) on 25 semi-wild ponies, across the remote Mongolian Steppe, in around 7 days, as part of the longest, toughest horse race on earth, the Mongol Derby.
Please, please support Operation Smile right now. Any donation, no matter how big or small will help towards my fund-raising target of £5,000 and put smiles back on the faces of 33 children!