Dierk’s CDH Story
Dierks was born May 2nd 2024.
His Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia (CDH) was never caught on ultrasound, and after birth, he showed no signs of struggle until approximately 20 hours old (we were 4 hours away from discharge).
Dad and I called the nurses because his color seemed gray. The nurses came in, put him under the heat light, and gave him 30 seconds of oxygen to say he was okay and just struggling to adjust. Twenty minutes later, it happened again, and Dierks didn't bounce back so quickly.
They took him down to the NICU and did an immediate x-ray to find his intestines in his lung. The doctor looked at us and said, "This is serious, and he needs to be sedated and incubated right now." Children's Hospital of Milwaukee and their team came by helicopter to fly him down within hours. Everyone was shocked that he made it as well, and as long as he did without showing signs of distress. Dierks had surgery at 3 days old after checking everything over, and he was cleared to be stable enough. The surgeon with Children's Hospital of Milwaukee said the repair was more difficult than they originally anticipated, and he had to use a patch and his ribs as an anchor. On May 14th, he was finally able to eat, and the team let him breastfeed PRN. This little man was a champ and took off like a champ after being only on TPN and fluids for 12 days. He made amazing progress and showed he could nurse and gain within a few short days.
Dierks is now over 6 months old, over 19 lbs, and as healthy as can be. Dierks is the youngest out of a very large blended family of 8 kids, and all 7 older siblings absolutely love and adore him.
Dierks is a huge Mama's boy. Mom has been by his side while Daddy has had to take on out-of-the-house work. He is very particular about anyone else who wants to hang out with him. He will throw a fit until he gets his way to snuggle with Mom.
He has a large family who adores him as well: grandmas, aunts, and even his very special great-grandma, who prayed for him every day during his journey.
We are incredibly thankful for the Children’s Hospital of Milwaukee, Prevea OT, and all the love from his friends and family!
