TEXAS CHILDREN'S FETAL CENTER
Diagnosed before birth,
hernia of the diaphragm
Michelle and Tim are trained to look for the absolutes – he is an engineer, she a former math teacher – but when their daughter was diagnosed with a severe
congenital diaphragmatic hernia, they were faced with uncertainty.
Their perseverance and search for answers on the Internet brought them to the
Texas Children's Fetal Center, where their baby had lifesaving surgery soon after birth.
When Michelle was 20 weeks pregnant, the couple went to a routine ultrasound expecting to learn the gender of their second child. They found out it was a girl, but they also learned something was wrong. The doctor showed them what appeared to be lung lesions and told them to come back in a month.
Knowing time was of the essence and not wanting to waste a minute of it, Tim immediately turned to cyberspace to research what might be wrong.
“He spent a lot of time on the Internet, finding out everything he could,” Michelle said. “We both felt so helpless, and I think it helped because this was something he could do to help.”
In his research, Tim found a hospital in Philadelphia that performed fetal surgery, so the couple flew there. Multiple tests revealed a different diagnosis – a hernia of the diaphragm – that had allowed several of Theresa’s organs to enter the chest cavity, crushing her lungs and displacing her heart.
Surgery soon after birth was the only solution. As the couple considered how they might disrupt their home to spend the necessary time in Philadelphia, doctors there recommended they consider the Texas Children's
Fetal Center.
“They were very complimentary of Texas Children’s and the fetal surgery program and told us some of the doctors had trained at the Philadelphia hospital,” Michelle said.
Quickly, they headed back to Houston, where they met with
Dr. Darrell Cass, attending surgeon and co-director of the Texas Children's
Fetal Center and assistant professor of surgery and pediatrics
at Baylor College of Medicine. Thanks to the couple’s electronic research, by this time they were quite knowledgeable about the diagnosis and treatment.
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Theresa celebrated her first birthday in January 2006 at the
Ronald McDonald House at Texas Children's. Her family made dinner for NICU
families that evening and spoke with parents of other babies who
were admitted in the unit at that time. |
Immediately after Theresa was born, she was transferred directly to Texas Children’s
Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). She had severe respiratory failure, for which she was treated with ECMO
(extra corporeal membrane oxygenation)
–
a lifesaving, but high-risk
treatment that provides oxygen with a heart-lung bypass machine. She
improved and was able to come off the machine in two weeks. Next,
Cass performed a delicate surgical procedure to repair the large
hole in her diaphragm and return her organs into the abdomen.
After the surgery, Theresa made a dramatic recovery. Although
doctors had said Theresa would probably be in the hospital three
months, she surprised everyone when she cut the time in half and
went home after 46 days.
Michelle and Tim were very involved in their daughter’s
care and wanted to know what was happening every step of the way.
“We asked a lot of hard questions, and no one seemed offended or
upset by them," she said.
“We were never treated like the pesky parents. They understood and
made us feel welcome.”
Three months later, Theresa is happy baby and loves people, Michelle
said. Doctors are optimistic about her prognosis
–
already, they say, she is
beating the odds.
“She is our miracle baby,” Michelle said. “We prayed for a miracle,
and we do feel God led us to Texas Children’s."
Kids Courageous home | Texas
Children's Fetal Center |
