Mia Robertson, the 11-year-old daughter of Missy and Jase Robertson from the Duck Dynasty fame, is showing great improvements after her latest surgery, her father Jase posted on his Facebook page.
"Mia is showing great improvement. Her toughness, our medical team, and your unified prayers have been powerful to watch. We love you and thank you," Jase posted on June 13.
Mia returned to the operating room on the morning of June 12 to have the next stage of her surgery. Mia Robertson was born with a facial cleft, and had her first surgery when she was just three months old. Cleft lips and palates form in the womb, resulting in a gap in the upper lip or the roof of the mouth because the tissue did not fully form during early pregnancy. Mia had her fifth surgery on January 3, and has taken everything in stride with a cheerful disposition.
Jase posted Mia's admission into the operating room, "Mia is heading into surgery this morning. It should be a couple of hours. We appreciate your prayers. I'll keep you posted. She was very positive this morning and continues to be brave."
On Saturday, Jase wrote that Mia was out of surgery and recovering well. Jase described Mia's medical team and surgeon as an "awesome" who were also expressed confidence that the latest operation was a success.
He added, "We really appreciate the support and prayers. I would like to thank Chik-Fil-A of Northwest Hwy in Dallas for providing the hospital lobby with lunch, prayer, and support during her surgery. That was a nice gesture. Mia will be impressed. Much love..."
Fans of the Duck Dynasty family and Mia posted their words of encouragement on Facebook, Angel Johnston wrote, "God is mighty!! Thank you to your family and Mia for allowing so many to see God through each of u in your own way. God is using Mia in a profound way..."
Another supporter, Debbie O'Steen, added, "Praying for your family and especially Mia."
Others offered their prayers. Flo McManus Piro wrote, "God bless Mia, and praying for her." While Michelle Arceneaux Clark, said, "Sending prayers for Mia and your family."
Drawing inspiration from the overwhelming support from fans across the nation, Jase and Missy Robertson founded the Mia Moo Fund, a non-profit organization to help raise awareness and fund research for causes and treatments of cleft lips and palates.
In an interview with Missy, she explained that the goal for the Mia Moo Fund is to help parents with expenses regarding getting the best care for their child. "We would like it to be where we have enough money in this fund and foundation where these parents don't have to make the decision based on their financial arrangements. So if the doctor that they think is best for their child is three states away and they don't have the money to get there, and their insurance only covers a portion of it, then hopefully we're able to say that if that's the best thing for your child, and that's what you think as a parent, then hopefully we can supplement and help that parent make that best decision," Missy Robertson said.
She added that the foundation wants to alleviate the stress of the financial situation of families with children with cleft lip and palate. Missy said she could relate to the stress because when Mia was born, she and husband Jase were living paycheck to paycheck and she was working as well and trying to make ends meet.
"The best doctor for her, we felt, was four and a half hours away, and they didn't take our insurance so we decided to take a leap of faith and do what we thought was best for our child regardless of the money, and it was very stressful for a few years trying to pay off that debt. So we would like to alleviate that stress for these families," Missy continued.
