Crisis can come to any of us at any time- it shows no prejudice. For us, it came in the words: congenital diaphragmatic hernia. Little did we realize this crisis was our opportunity to grow stronger in our faith. 

After spending months preparing for our baby boy, dreaming of what he would wear home from the hospital and what his first word would be, we suddenly dreamt of nothing more than his survival. In August of 2006 I was admitted to the hospital for one of the worst migraines of my life. I was in my 31^st week of pregnancy, and at that point had no reason to believe anything was wrong with Noah. That was about to change. 

After a few tests to check on his health, it became apparent that something was wrong; and by the look on the doctor’s face, we were anticipating the worst. Noah was diagnosed with a right-sided congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH), and it was recommended that we travel from our home in Jacksonville to Gainesville, Florida to see Dr. David Kays, who has a 92% survival rate with DH babies born at Shands Gainesville. We were told that Noah’s liver, a small part of his kidney and intestines were up in his chest, causing his lung growth to be impaired and pushing his heart to the side. With the contractions I was having, it was decided that I would remain in Gainesville, so if Noah came prematurely, he would already be near Shands.  

After weeks of contractions, trips to Shands triage, and twice weekly doctor visits, Noah Michael Morgan was born via cesarean on September 20, 2006. Our little “Bean” was 6 lbs, 7 ounces, and shortly after birth he was intubated and whisked away to NICU 3 with Dr. Kays and his team. We were thrilled that Noah made it to 37 weeks. We did not know what was in store for him, but Jonathan and I dedicated him back to God, knowing it was in His hands. 

The next day I found myself signing birth certificate papers when my husband and best friend walked into my hospital room. I immediately started crying- reading their faces was not hard. Jonathan had just signed the papers for Noah to be placed on ECMO, a heart-lung bypass machine. Noah’s lungs just were not strong enough, and without ECMO, his chance of survival dwindled. Besides knowing the risks of ECMO, just seeing him connected to this huge contraption was enough to bring the strongest person down. Our view of his precious face was hampered by wires and tubes coming out of his nose and mouth, and an ace bandage around his forehead to stabilize the ECMO canula. This was not the sight we expected to see when we dreamt of his arrival months ago. But here we were walking the DH road with our God by our side.  

Noah was on ECMO for six perilous days. Between blood gases, medications, and oxygen readings, we became all too familiar with the medical side of things. But after six days on ECMO Dr. Kays’ felt he was ready to be weaned off, and thankfully, Noah’s lungs were ready too. Once he was successfully switched from an oscillating ventilator to a regular vent, his repair surgery was scheduled. He was nine days old. 

Surgery day was the longest day of our lives and ended with Dr. Kay’s beaming face as he walked through the waiting room doors. We could finally exhale. Dr. Kays explained that Noah’s right lung was in far better shape than he anticipated due to a hernia sac. He was thrilled with this rare finding. The sac provided a membrane stretching over the hernia, causing the organs that did go into his chest to be pulled back down slightly by the sac, giving the lung more room for growth. His right lung was half the normal size, and his left lung was a whopping 80%.  

From the time after his surgery to his discharge, our Miracle Boy grew stronger and stronger. Fortunately he did not have feeding aversions, and was able to nurse. Five weeks after his birth he was discharged from Shands Gainesville. The nurses were astonished at his quick recovery, and remarked that it was one of the fastest discharges of a baby that was once so sick. We explained the hundreds of people praying for Noah at our home church, and praised God for the fact that we were going to bring our baby home.  

Besides being on oxygen and having to keep him from sickness as much as possible, Noah was just another baby being cuddled daily by his parents. His life is such a gift to us and we will never take it for granted. His sickness was an opportunity for growth for both my husband and I. Each day we thank God for his health as we know it could have turned out much differently. 

Today Noah is 2 ½ years old, and his only continuing DH issue is reflux, which will probably follow him throughout his life. With his exuberant personality and compassionate heart, we know he will do great things with the testimony that has been given to him.  

Lifeaftercdh.blogspot.com