Morgan’s CDH Story

My name is Morgan Nuchols, and I was born with severe left-sided Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia (CDH) in Torrance, California on July 26, 1993 at 38 weeks and a few days. I had a helicopter ride once I was stable enough to be transported to a surgeon that knew about CDH and how to fix it. She did all four of my repairs. Before my first repair, I was on extracorporeal membrane oxygen (ECMO) for six days. A patch was placed during that initial repair. Pulmonary hypertension (PH) was first mentioned when I was three weeks old, then found again later and I had a stroke at seven months old.

Between ages six months old and almost age five, a few years after my 3rd diaphragm repair, my PH returned in March 2002 at age 8. A few years later, in February 2007, I had my fourth diaphragm repair at age thirteen. In my final repair, they found my small intestine got kinked into it, and that portion of my small intestine lost all blood supply, so some of that dead intestine was taken out. Later on, some of my large intestines were also taken out, but during this time, my pulmonary hypertension was horrible. After the repair, my PH was getting back on track to stabilize.

I also had multiple types of seizures later that developed after the stroke, with the latest being in 2015. This was my last seizure for now! I had scoliosis that was repaired in March 2006 and, though I still have a mild back curve, I have been stable for 16 years. I have dealt with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) since I was born, however, that has since become spontaneous, along with gastroparesis, a disorder that affects food movement between the stomach and small intestine. Both GI issues led us to find a 5th small hiatal hernia in August 2022. When I’m older, I might need new lungs. My lungs developed but sustained some scarring damage at six months old when I caught pneumonia, RSV and a bad batch of albuterol. My right lung is standard size but functions at about 73%, while my little left lung size is 50% and only functions at about 32%.

My lungs were damaged at a very young age, in large part due to reoccurring pneumonia until age 14, as well as chronic bronchitis that connects to my pulmonary hypertension, but I have luckily been staying stable for almost 30 years. Now I enjoy doing anything I can to help families if their little ones still show PH.

Since I have small lungs, I found hobbies I can do without too much strain. I enjoy puzzles, music, and almost anything crafty. I make my own holiday cards for my friends and family. Even though my lungs are scarred and damaged, I love to sing. I have a dog, Lucy, who is my companion. You can find me in the support groups helping new families find hope - please feel free to reach out to me!