Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia (CDH)
Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia is an illness where the diaphragm fails to form or leaves a hole in the diaphragm. CDH occurs in the first trimester of a pregnancy. The hole in the diaphragm or lack thereof will cause the organs in the abdomen to freely move about the chest cavity. CDH is present in about one in 2,500 births; however, there is still not much research available to help this horrible illness. Research can be difficult to obtain because in CDH, every case is different. In addition, only fifty percent of babies live through this and the ones who do will most likely have lifelong issues, such as asthma, feeding issues, lung problems, developmental problems (physically and speech problems), hearing loss, and other problems.
My cousin, Laney Kate, is a miracle baby. She was born on June 30, 2007 and it was known that she would be born with CDH. Before she was born, no one knew if she was going to survive, or if she did survive, it would be a long road ahead to recovery. She was born with complications and had to go back to the hospital frequently for check ups and to make sure she was developing correctly after birth. Laney Kate had a hole in her diaphragm (thankfully she wasn't missing most of it) where her abdominal organs could interfere with her chest and heart. Doctors worried about her lungs not developing at the same rate, where one would be smaller than the other. She stayed in the NICU at the Children's Hospital at St. Francis in Tulsa, OK for weeks after birth. St. Francis had a great ECMO machine (extracorporeal membranous oxygenation). After weeks of treatment, she started to pull through. After a rough period of time on the family, Laney Kate was able to go home. She showed the doctors that she was one of the fifty percent that had a chance to live another day. She still needed to visit the doctor frequently; however, four years later she is home free with no CDH, healthy diaphragm and organs and able to live the life her family wanted to give her. She has not had any long term effects, which is rare. A new unit at the NICU at St. Francis officially opened in October 2009. Laney Kate's picture, along with may other miracle babies' pictures were put on the walls throughout the hallway of the department.
The cause of CDH is still unknown, but research has shown that it can be linked to genetics. Factors involved may include multiple genes from both parents and possibly environmental factors. Since Laney Kate had CDH, any other siblings are at an increased risk for developing the illness also. She now has a one-year-old brother who was closely monitored over his development in the womb and was born a healthy baby without any sign of illness.
My cousin, Laney Kate, is a miracle baby. She was born on June 30, 2007 and it was known that she would be born with CDH. Before she was born, no one knew if she was going to survive, or if she did survive, it would be a long road ahead to recovery. She was born with complications and had to go back to the hospital frequently for check ups and to make sure she was developing correctly after birth. Laney Kate had a hole in her diaphragm (thankfully she wasn't missing most of it) where her abdominal organs could interfere with her chest and heart. Doctors worried about her lungs not developing at the same rate, where one would be smaller than the other. She stayed in the NICU at the Children's Hospital at St. Francis in Tulsa, OK for weeks after birth. St. Francis had a great ECMO machine (extracorporeal membranous oxygenation). After weeks of treatment, she started to pull through. After a rough period of time on the family, Laney Kate was able to go home. She showed the doctors that she was one of the fifty percent that had a chance to live another day. She still needed to visit the doctor frequently; however, four years later she is home free with no CDH, healthy diaphragm and organs and able to live the life her family wanted to give her. She has not had any long term effects, which is rare. A new unit at the NICU at St. Francis officially opened in October 2009. Laney Kate's picture, along with may other miracle babies' pictures were put on the walls throughout the hallway of the department.
The cause of CDH is still unknown, but research has shown that it can be linked to genetics. Factors involved may include multiple genes from both parents and possibly environmental factors. Since Laney Kate had CDH, any other siblings are at an increased risk for developing the illness also. She now has a one-year-old brother who was closely monitored over his development in the womb and was born a healthy baby without any sign of illness.
