Wyatt James Koger, A Fighter from Birth: CDH Awareness Day- March 31st

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

CDH Awareness Day- March 31st

Thursday is CDH Awareness Day. Wear turquoise in support of CDH Awareness in hopes that one day doctors/researchers find a cure and take the survival rate from 50% to 100%. For now, because most CDH babies receive numerous blood transfusions, you can give blood. Here in our household, we have a shirts picked out and ribbons made for the BIG day!!!

Here are some facts so that you can help spread awareness:

1.The survival rate for CDH babies runs at 50%. Approximately 1600 births a year; 800 babies survive.

2. CDH occurs in approximately 1:2500 births

3. There is no known cause for CDH.

4. There is no way to determine if your CDH baby will or will not survive. Some babies that have severe CDH survive, while other more mild cases do not.

5. There are several types of CDH with the left sided being the most common (this is where our case falls).

6. Many families have never heard of CDH until they are diagnosed with it.

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Hurdles that I faced and achieved!

After birth, I was placed on ECMO at Johns Hopkins Hospital for 13 days. On day 13, I had a surgery to repair my hernia and was removed from ECMO, but my organs would not fit in my abdomen. I had a silo for a week and then surgery to place the organs back in the abdomen. Then, part of my intestines re-herniated into my chest cavity two months later and I had another surgery to repair that. After my first surgery, I experienced an intraventricular hemorrhage in my brain and at four months old I received a VP shunt. After I was extubated, I learned that I have right vocal cord paralysis. Then I had g-tube surgery and after I finally got to go home after 5 longs months at Johns Hopkins and Mt. Washington Hospital! Only for a few weeks, though. In mid-April my intestines reherniated again and sent me into surgery. I came home, and had a long run before my THIRD reherniation in the beginning of September on Labor Day weekend in 2008. Then I was hospitalized for twice during the winter 2009 for two respiratory infections. Well, I almost lasted a year until my next surgery! Just this past June, in 2009, I had surgery to wrap my stomach around the esophagus, a nissen. This has helped with my reflux and my hiatal hernia. I will be 2 in October, I love scooting around but refuse to stand up and walk. I am a little miracle and thank God, my doctors, my nurses, family, and friends for my strength, my fight and a happy life.