as recommended by Sommerlad is not practical universally. Moreover, there are many countries in the world where presurgical orthopedics and nasoalveolar molding are not available readily,^[@R8]^ as a result of which wide cleft palate is a common occurrence in the underdeveloped and developing countries. The main burden of cleft lip and palate is present in such countries and that is why repair of palate becomes more challenging.^[@R8]^

Another problem that can make the palate repair a nightmare is higher age of the patient. As the age of the cleft patient reporting for surgery in most of the developed countries is usually within the first 18 months,^[@R9]^ most of the surgeons have not experienced the problems like variability of pedicle location, increased chances of bleeding, the amount of dissection requiredthe year. That was an incredible experience. Through it, I met Jim Morrow, the media teacher at the high school who was a sci-fi writer, game designer and comic book collector. His wife Jean also became a mentor—she taught film and media and encouraged me greatly. Turns out that cool teachers hang out with each other, and through Jim and Jean, my twin brother and I became friends with a cadre of creative teachers, each who inspired us in different ways. They treated us like smart humans—not students—and in fact, we were all on a first name basis: Bonnie, Risa, Dan, Linda, Steve, Rol... the list goes on. Their inspiration ripples on!