Teagan’s Story - Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia (CDH)

August 10, 2020... I will forever remember that day. I went in for a follow-up anatomy scan. At my 20-week scan, the ultrasound technician said she couldn’t get a good picture of our baby girl’s heart, so when they asked me to come back on August 10, I didn’t think anything of it. After the ultrasound, I waited in an exam room for my OB to come in and tell me things looked good. Instead, she told me our baby’s stomach and intestines had moved up into her chest because of a hole in her diaphragm. Our sweet baby had something called a congenital diaphragmatic hernia. Because of COVID, I was alone when I got what felt like earth-shattering news. I remember asking my doctor if this was something our baby could survive. She told me that she would need to go straight to the NICU and would eventually need surgery. I called my husband crying, and he very seriously told me not to google CDH. But I hadn’t heard of CDH before, and I wanted a better understanding of what our baby would face after she was born.

I was so scared, and for a long time, I felt hopeless. The following 4 months were spent preparing for the worst and praying for the best. I wanted so badly for our baby to be born and for the doctors to tell me she was just fine. Teagan was born, and they took her right away, and she was hooked up to so many machines with all kinds of tubes. That night they transported her to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. We knew that a lot of her condition wouldn’t be clear to the doctors until after she was born. So there was a lot of waiting for information and praying that she would be a strong warrior.

Three days after she was born, they told us she was ready for her surgery, where they would move everything and repair the hole in her diaphragm. Thankfully, I was able to get out of the hospital the day of her surgery, and I was finally able to see my sweet little girl before her operation. We waited for what felt like forever for news about Teagan. Finally, her surgeon told us that the hole was much bigger than they anticipated, which made the surgery last so long. He explained that it was touch and go, and it was time for her to rest and for her body to heal itself.

We were so thankful because Teagan never needed ECMO. She was on the ventilator for a short time and spent one month and one day in the NICU. Our sweet Teagan is a fighter, and she amazed all the doctors and nurses with how quickly she progressed through the NICU. We finally got to take our sweet girl home on December 18. Since then, Teagan continues to amaze us with her strength and resilience. She is the sweetest girl. She loves her brother and her dog. She has the biggest smile and a light that shines so bright. There is hope after a CDH diagnosis, and we can’t imagine our family without our tiny hero Teagan!