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Our son Maxton was diagnosed with left-sided congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) at his 19 week ultrasound. Maxton was born on 3/3/09 at Vanderbilt University. He fought hard for 18 days but earned his wings on 3/21/09. Maxton was an inspiration to many during his brief time on earth and has forever changed our lives. If your child is diagnosed with CDH, please feel free to contact us. Maxton may no longer live here on earth, but he will live forever in our hearts...

To start at the beginning of our story click here and scroll all the way to the bottom.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Learning about CDH

Last Friday I went in for my 19 week ultrasound and was told that baby Maxton may have CDH (congenital diaphragmatic hernia) and that I would need to see a specialist on Monday. Unfortunately, this was the second scare we had during pregnancy. At 11 weeks, we were told that Max had a cystic hygroma and we were advised to take a CVS test. The CVS came back normal, which we were very excited about. However, deep in my gut, I still felt like something was wrong. Unfortunately, I was right and Max was diagnosed with CDH yesterday. Since Friday I have been reading all I can about CDH. Basically, right now it appears that Max's stomach and possibly part of his liver are occupying his left chest, which has caused his heart to move to the right side. This is caused by a hernia or hole on the left side of his diaphragm. The main problem will be with Max's lung development, which is due to the fact that other organs are invading the lung space which doesn't allow them room to grow.

David and I are both very hopeful that our little man will do just fine and are very excited to be his parents and help him through all of this. Most likely, after Max is born, he will be placed in NICU and will be monitored until he is stable enough for surgery to fix his hernia and move the organs back to their right place. This is typically a few days or a week after birth. Max will then remain in the hospital for several weeks to give his lungs time to develop. Luckily, we found this problem early and are able to get good prenatal care. I was told that Max (and I) will likely be started on steroids to help aide his lung growth. I am meeting with a surgeon on Wed. October 29th to discuss Max's plan of care.

We appreciate your support and thoughts during this difficult time. Luckily, we are blessed to have a good team of doctors at Maternal Fetal Group and look forward to meeting some of our new doctors at Vanderbilt next week. Check here often for updates as it will be easier for me to update here than to email everyone. We appreciate you all!!!

7 comments:

Beatrice Blount said...

I'm sorry that you have to go through this! But it sounds like you have a really good team looking out for you. I can't wait to hear more about baby Max and see his cute litte face!

Amanda said...

I'm so sorry that you're having to deal with this! I'll be thinking about you all!

Unknown said...

I will definetly keep you guys in my prayers and thoughts. The best thing to do is keep a positive outlook and I'm so happy that you have a good team of surgeons and pre-natal doctors guiding you through this. If you need to vent,cry or need a good laugh... you know where to find me! ;)

mummy to angel SKYLA said...

Hi, i just found your blog through another CDH babies page. Im sorry to hear that your son has CDH. These kids are tough and im sure little Maxton is gonna prove to everyone what a little fighter he really is. I will keep on following Maxtons progress. Prayers and thoughts coming your way.

Kristy, mum to Angel SKYLA, LCDH
http://skylacdhbaby.blogspot.com

Unknown said...

I'm so sorry you're having to deal with this and I knowyou must be under so much stress. It sounds like there is an excellent plan in place and I know that you will do everything in your power to help things go smoothly. I'll be thinking about you and little peanut and sending good thoughts your way.

Cindy said...

I will be praying for you and your sweet baby Maxton and following his progress on your blog. I hope your meeting with the surgeon next week goes well -- is it with Dr. Y? I live in Gallatin if you ever want to get together or talk.

~ Cindy
mom to Claire, 6/7/07, LCDH
cindytwilliams@yahoo.com

Fer said...

I am praying for you and Maxton. I'll keep reading your blog to see your updates.
Fer
Mom to Juanpa (RCDH)
Mexican Cherubs Rep.