My Name is Jodene Forsythe and I am a mother of 2 boys who both had diaphragmatic hernia. When my first child, Dylan, was born it was not detected on the ultrasound. When he was a newborn to 4 months he could not burp, pass gas, or have a bowel movement rarely on his own. I told his doctor and health nurses on every visit and they told me it was normal (even though I was breastfeeding) and to use suppositories to help him. At 4 months of age (the day I fed him his first pablum) he screamed in pain lifting his legs. I thought he had gas pains from the pablum. 12 hours later he was to the point of exhaustion we took him to a near by hospital. At this time he was throwing up everywhere. The doctor there told us he had a throat infection and flu and gave us a prescription and sent us home. We went to my parents who lived near by to drop Dylan off so we could pick up his prescription my Dad told us he wasn't breathing normal and we should take him to the children's hospital. When we got there they took x-rays and were shocked (as were we) when they saw his bowels up to his collar-bone, his left lung collapsed and his heart shifted into his right cavity. They did emergency surgery and told us if his bowels twist he will not make it. We were very fortunate and thankful that the surgery was a success. Two months later at home, Dylan started screaming in pain and lifting his legs up. I phoned my husband to see what I should do and he told me to take him to the hospital. At the hospital they took x-rays and his diaphragm had herniated again and they had to do emergency surgery. The surgeon said she had never heard of someone having it happen a second time. She also told us that if we were to have more children the chance of it happening to that child is 2%. Well when my second son, Ryan, was born 19 months later he had RSV and we took him to emergency because he looked so sick. They did x-rays to see if he had ammonia but what showed up instead has a diaphragmatic eventration. I asked to see the same surgeon to see what she thought. She was very surprised. She said because Dylan had had an actual hernia she was afraid Ryan's diaphragm would herniate, so she wanted to do surgery to make his diaphragm taunt. It worked but unfortunately when Ryan was 7 months old I couldn't wake him one morning…he was moaning and dry heaving but almost unconscious. We took him to the hospital and they found through a cat-scan that he was bleeding in the brain…AVM not an aneurysm. He is fine but has epilepsy. Last December 1997, Ryan had the croup and started throwing up. They did x-rays and his diaphragm had broke and had to have emergency surgery. Needless to say 5 surgeries in 4 years has taken its toll but my husband and I have gotten closer and the children are my angels from God.


Written by Dylan's mom, Jodene Forsythe (Canada)
1999