Elisha’s Story - Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia (CDH)

My husband Mark and I moved to Arizona in 2005. We actually did not know we were pregnant with our beautiful boy, Elisha James, until two months after I became pregnant. I went to the doctors thinking I was having a miscarriage, but, like the fighter Elisha is today, he hung in there. I was put on bed rest for the next three months and became very sick, not just from the pregnancy but also because I was coughing a lot and couldn't breathe well. We came to find out that we were living in a rental house full of black mold! The day we found out, my doctors told me to move out as quickly as possible for fear that it could do something to the baby. I went to the doctors, showed them the list of mold percentages in the home. She told me had I lived in that house with my son, he would have died. Not until I was 21 weeks pregnant did I find out the news that would change our lives forever.

Mark and I were so excited. We were going to our ultrasound to find out if we were having a boy or a girl. We went in, and all seemed great! We were told it was a boy and we would see the doctor shortly! We called all of our family and friends. We were all so excited! My doctor then came in through the door with an awful look on her face to tell us the dreaded news; Elisha had what's called a Left-sided Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia (CDH). Basically, she said his stomach is behind his heart, and all his organs were in the chest wall. You can imagine our surprise. We had never heard of this before, and most people we talk to even today have no clue what it is either. Mark and I were very upset, crying and calling our family members back to now tell them our baby boy may not make it. I thought to myself, this is supposed to be the happiest time of my life, what I've waited for, played dolls for, and dreamed of since I was a little girl, and now it's become the saddest, scariest thing I've ever had to deal with. My beautiful son may not live. We stayed up all night looking up research on CDH and mostly crying. We were determined to fight this with whatever we had to do for our son to live.

So, we were off to San Francisco, California, our first stop on the journey. We went there looking for hope and found out this was not the place for our son. Then we found Dr. David Kays at Shands Hospital in Gainsville, Florida. He met with us for hours and told us, your son is very severe, he could die, but I'm going to do all I can to help him. So, our decision was made. I would leave Arizona in the middle of September to stay at the Ronald McDonald House and await the arrival of my baby boy. However, due to the stress of my pregnancy, I started going into labor the last week of July, so my mom and I packed up and left for Florida just for that, just in case. I had to be there when Elisha was born. It was a matter of life or death. As soon as we got there, my labor stopped. I was so much more relaxed knowing I was near Elisha's doctor. I lived there with my mother until September 17th, 2006, which was the day I will never forget.

I went into labor at 12:30 pm on September 16th, 2006. I was in labor for 30 hours before being told I was going to have a C-Section delivery. Elisha wouldn't drop. I was now not only terrified for my son but also scared because this was my first surgery ever! So, they wheeled me into the operating room. Dr. Kays, whom they had told me before, was out of town and wouldn't be able to make it for Elisha's birth, showed up. He was there! He looked at me in his t-shirt and shorts and said I wouldn't have missed it for the world! I was overjoyed to know my baby was in good hands, not only with God but with his doctor as well. My journey was beginning.

My little angel, Elisha James Bold, was born on September 17th, 2006, at 3:00 pm. My ears did not hear the sound of newborn cries; my arms did not get to feel the comfort of a bundle of joy. His fight began the second he was born and went on for two months after. In recovery, the nurses gave Mark many pictures to bring to show me our beautiful son. I cried not only because of the tubes and needles that were so overwhelming but because I could look past those things and see my little son. So strong, beautiful, and such a fighter, no mother could have been so proud. Elisha fought through the night. Dr. Kays stayed by his side all through the night and came in early the next morning to tell us to come to see Elisha quickly because he was going to take him in for surgery. It was time. We went in and held his hand and kissed him and prayed and prayed. I left the room knowing that God would take care of my baby, and he did. Elisha's surgery went great!

Our next task would be watching his oxygen levels to see if he would need to go on ECMO (a heart and lung bypass machine). He did. His levels dropped twice through the night. We almost lost him. Elisha went on ECMO on September 19th. Now, if anytime was going to be scary, this was it. The machine and the sight of my son's little neck with needles in it made me cry. I remember Dr. Kays hugging me when I first saw Elisha and saying, "it's very overwhelming, isn't it." It definitely was! Elisha was on ECMO for twelve days. One trial run on September 29th, he didn't do well. He went back on after being off of it for two hours. The next and last trial run was on September 30th and Praise the Lord. He was off!! After this, we had many, many good and bad days. Elisha went from being on a ventilator to nose prongs and a big boy crib from a hospital bed. But no day was like that of October 11th. The day I finally got to hold my son, my baby. I cried and cried. I was so proud of him. I never left his side except when I had to. I think he knew it to. He next had his first bath, his first time to wear clothes, and then his first bottle. Elisha had had so many tubes down his throat as well as feeding tubes that I actually had to go through teaching him how to suck and eat from a bottle. After a few weeks, we both finally got the hang of it. It was scary for both of us. Elisha was moved from the NICU III to the NICU II on October 16th. We were finally discharged from the hospital on November 21st, 2006, just before Thanksgiving Day. This was also a very scary time for me. He went home on oxygen and was finally taken off of that on May 10th of 2007.

This was a long hard battle. I would do it a hundred times over for the life of my baby. Elisha is a fighter, and I'm proud to say that. I think this helped him through it all. Today, he will be 15 in September, and every doctor's visit has been great. I lived every day going to the hospital to be with my son and pray and help him fight for four months. I had great help with my church and family along the way and greatly appreciated them for it. I spent months away from my husband, which was extremely difficult, and many, many hugs and kisses go out to my mother, who was right there with me along the entire way. I would tell people today God is great! He saved my son. Elisha means God is salvation. I Corinthians 10:13 says, "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it."

God is faithful. If you have faith in him that he can save, then you will see miracles happen. God gives you what you can handle and gives you the strength to bear it. He saved our son, Elisha. He directed us on the right path to take, and here we are today, enjoying every moment with our "miracle baby," our beautiful blue-eyed boy, Elisha James Bold.