ShawnaE

I went in for a routine ultrasound excited to find out the sex of my baby, but what I was not prepared for was to find out something was wrong. The Doctor said it looked like the baby had a hernia but didn't specify beyond that. We came back 2 weeks later hoping the baby moved to get a better look. He did all his measuring and said that we needed to come in his office, at that point I was asking what the sex was. He told me it was a boy but he had a diaphragmatic hernia. I had never heard of this before. I vaguely recall what the doctor was explaining was wrong all I could remember was him telling me I could have an abortion and there was also a specialist in Gainesville that we could see. At that point I was numb!! He recommended a amniocentesis and explained the baby could also have other abnormalities. I set up an appt at shands with Dr. Kays. I remember getting a package from him watching a video and reading the material he sent but that was basically all the info I had. We went to shands he explained ecmo and that my son could face so many issues from coming home with a feeding tube, oxygen and many other things that couldn't be predicted. He gave my son a 75% survival rate which sounds good compared to 50% but when someone is telling you your child may not survive any percentage is frightening. I moved in to the Ronald McDonald house in Gainesville about 2 weeks before my due date. On November 14th 2005 I went in to be induced. I was in labor for 14 hours and his heart rate started to drop. I was rushed to the OR for an emergency C - section. My son was delivered at 2:52 am ,November 15, 2005 and had the cord wrapped around his neck. I remember hearing a faint cry and only able to get a quick glance before he was strapped to machines, hooked to a ventilator and rushed off. They brought a picture of him since I wasn't able to see my son. At 5 days old he had his repair after keeping him sedated for the first 2 weeks he finally was able to wake up, i pumped the whole time he was in the hospital and everyday he got better. He was a fighter and was able to go home after a month. At 6 weeks old he started getting sick and throwing up, I took him to the doctor and was told it could be a virus or lactose issue. I still only knew about CDH from what we experienced 2 days later I took my son to the ER to find out he was having a bowel obstruction and was rushed back to Dr. Kays to have a repair. Again I had to watch my son be hooked to machines and ventilators told there was a chance he could need a colostomy bag. We were again Blessed and all went well and he went home after about 5 days. Up until a A few months ago we didn't have complications due to CDH at a routine appt Dr. Kays noticed he need an umbilical hernia repair and he needed a Orchiopexy, so we were headed for another surgery. My son has overall been healthy and active little boy. You never know what CDH will bring, but one thing is that these babies are fighters!