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| Parker's Story |
Our lives were forever changed on April 7, 2006 as it would be the first time we would hear about Congenital
Diaphragmatic Hernia, a condition that our daughter, Parker was diagnosed with. Here we share our story in
hopes that we will educate others about such a devastating birth defect that affects every 1 in 2000 births.
On April 5th, Ashley and I went in for a routine ultrasound and it was discovered that Parker's stomach was
measuring smaller than it should be at that stage of her growth. Dr. Lewis, our OB-GYN, referred us to a
Maternal-Fetal Specialist, Dr. Shelton, for a level 2 ultrasound. On April 7th, we went to Dr. Shelton's office for
the next round of ultrasound's. After looking around for over an hour, Dr. Shelton shared with Ashley and I the
news of our daughter's condition. Parker had what they call a congenital diaphragmatic hernia or in layman
terms, a hole in her diaphragm. Her stomach had moved up into her chest cavity and forced her heart over.
This condition was not allowing her lungs to develop properly. The next step for us was the amniocentesis to
make sure that her condition was not related to a chromosome issue. On April 11th, we made another trip to
Dr. Shelton's office for the amniocentesis. Ashley and I both researched Parker's condition and the procedure
for the amniocentesis so that we were has prepared as we could be. Parker did wonderful during the amnio
and did not move an inch. I think she actually did better than I did! We received the results back on Thursday,
April 13th, and they were normal. This meant that her chances greatly improved! Ashley and I felt a huge
weight lifted off our shoulders. Unfortunately, we discovered that our doctor appointments would increase as
would the ultrasounds.
We were also told that Parker would have to be delivered at Duke Medical Center because of her condition.
Our hometown hospital was not equipped to handle her situation. The plan was that once she entered this
world she would be taken to the NICU and stabilized. Upon stabilization a team of surgeons would then take
her for surgery to repair her CDH. She would call Duke NICU home for a while until she recovered enough to
come home with Ashley and I. On April 21st, we headed back to Dr. Lewis' office for a regular visit and of
course, an ultrasound. This visit turned out great for Parker! We saw her “practice breathing” which all the
doctor's were pleased to hear as were her Daddy and Mommy. At this point she had decided to breech herself
but still had plenty of time to flip again before birth so no one was too concerned. Once we left Dr. Lewis' office
we received a call from Dr. Shelton who had scheduled a last minute appointment with the Pediatric
Cardiologist that same day at 1:30 p.m.
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