Watson, Cameron Dianne

[left:b8ef9fe1c7]http://www.cherubs-cdh.org/Album/new/watson-cameron.jpg[/left:b8ef9fe1c7]My first pregnancy was completely uneventful. Our son, Colton, was born on his due date 8-8-98, and he weighed 8 lbs 8 oz. We were fortunate in that he was an exceptionally good baby. He was always happy. He slept well and he rarely cried. I was eager for another child almost immediately and I became pregnant again when Colton was only 6 months old.

My second pregnancy was as uneventful as the first. I had two completely normal ultrasounds, both before 22 weeks gestation. Never, was there an indication of a problem. We did not want to know the sex of this child even though we did with the first. I gained a lot of weight (60lbs!) but I had gained (and lost) the same amount with the first pregnancy. The only difference this time was that my hands and feet were more swollen and I developed carpal tunnel syndrome in both wrists.

Strictly for convenience, I was scheduled for induction at 7:00am Monday, October 25, 1999 at River Oaks East in Jackson, Mississippi. The day progressed rather well and everything seemed to going on schedule. My first delivery had been 3 solid hours of pushing to deliver an 81b 8oz OP baby (OP positioned face down and more difficult to deliver vaginally). Because of that, my doctor expected a shorter, easier delivery this time around. It was shorter, but by only 15 mins. After 2hrs 45mins of pushing, the head was delivered and my nursed exclaimed "Oh, my God!" This is not what you want to hear at a moment like this. I couldn't imagine what was wrong with my baby. But the nurse's next statement was, "Look at the size of the baby!" Cameron Dianne Watson was born at 3:45 pm and weighed 10lbs 0oz. I was trying to catch a glimpse of my new daughter when I noticed the nurses attending to her were whispering and they sent for a pediatrician. Immediately, my husband and I asked what was wrong. The nurses said she was probably fine, she was just breathing a little fast. She was not in distress. She wasn't blue. Her color was pretty good, so we weren't terribly upset (yet). I was allowed to hold her for a brief moment before they let my husband carry her past our waiting family to the nursery. They were supposed to bring Cameron to my room to nurse after their standard 4 hour period of observation had passed. When the time came, the nursery called my room to say they needed to watch her another couple of hours. Two hours later, I was told they needed to observe her another couple of hours. Cameron's respiratory rate was staying around 100/min. I was told that this happened in large babies occasionally, but that it usually resolved on its on, and that she should be fine by morning. I was allowed to go to the nursery and attempt nursing her there under the watchful eye of a nurse to monitor her respiration. A few hours later, she was moved to NICU because her CBC had a high white count and her respiratory rate was still around 100/min. There were 5 other babies in the NICU that were all born prematurely. Cameron weighed more than all 5 babies put together. My husband and I went to the NICU and sat with Cameron for the rest of the night. I was trying to think of a way to describe the way Cameron was breathing to a friend, and all I could think of was that she was breathing like an animal that had been hit by a car and had ruptured its diaphragm. (My husband and I are both veterinarians and unfortunately, we compare everything to animals.) I never really considered the fact that my daughter might have a diaphragmatic hernia. I was just trying to describe what her respiration was like. The next morning, a chest radiograph was taken. The neonatologist brought the film out and held it up to a light for my husband and I to see. We said simultaneously, she has a diaphragmatic hernia. At that instant, I was almost relieved because we now had a diagnosis and we could correct the problem. Then I began to worry because my child was about to undergo surgery. I was going on the assumption that the hernia had occurred at birth. I didn't want to think about the possibility of the hernia having been present for very long and her having underdeveloped lungs. At 3:45 pm, when Cameron was exactly 24hrs old, they took her away to surgery. Her surgery lasted just under an hour, and shortly after she was returned to NICU, we were allowed to see her. I was so relieved that she had survived surgery that I didn't notice all the tubes and IV's she had in her. She had had a left sided hernia and there was no need for a patch to correct it. Almost all of her intestines had been in her thorax, but nothing else. She came off the respirator by midnight that very same night, and she steadily improved. One by one, all the tubes were removed. After only 8 days, we brought Cameron home. She is perfect. She is steadily growing. She has no problem with reflux or anything else. I read the letters from other mothers with children who had diaphragmatic hernias and I thank God again for blessing us with complete recovery. I don't know why my child was born with a hernia and I don't know why she recovered so quickly when most children do not. I do know that Cameron had an entire community praying for her, as I am sure many of your babies have too. So many of the stories I've read have ended in such tragedy. I just wanted to write Cameron's story because it has such a happy ending.


Written by Cameron's mom, Dianne Watson (Mississippi)
2000