Hi my name is Wendy and I'm fundraising for my son & soon to be daughter in laws family-

I hope I'm doing this right But here is a little bit of whats happening baby girl is Coming in just a few short weeks.

This family has gone through hell and back the last 4 plus years & This summer at their 20 week anatomy scan they got some news no parent should getSpecially after losing a child from SIDS at just 17 days old back in 2017

The dr called as soon as Britany (the mother of baby L) left the hospital from her 20 week anatomy scan and told her to turn around as there was something wrong with baby.

She rushed back to the Drs office to be sat down & told “there is definitely some major things wrong with your baby girl.” No words any parent wants to hear.

There she was then told she wouldn’t be able to deliver at the local hospital she’s always delivered at because this is a serious birth defect & they are not equipped or educated enough with this diagnosis around here. They didn’t really know to much other then the babies stomach was in her chest.

From there she was sent to a specialist in Johnstown PA. That’s when they again agreed that baby girl in fact has something called CDH (which is a very rare birth defect) 1 in 3600. Which is called congenital diaphragmatic hernia. It is where the baby has a hole in her diaphragm that allows intestines, stomach, liver and other abdominal organs to enter the chest impairing normal lung development.

There they did some tests & took amniotic fluid out to test for chromosome disorders which thankfully everything came back good with that.. but still no answers as to what actually causes something like this to happen. They explained it usually occurs during 6-12 weeks & that they still to this day don’t know what causes this.

So from there they took to the internet to research and find out everything they could about CDH not knowing anything about this prior. They found some amazing support groups on Facebook that have helped them tremendously with navigating this diagnosis. As far as where to go for treatment, the odds, success stories & have grown close to some families that are going through this same thing right now or have went through this same thing

After finding out about the Children’s hospital in Philly they scheduled an apt &

From Johnstown they went to CHOP.

(Children’s hospital of Philadelphia) because they are very well equipped for this diagnosis and there was really only one other hospital in St. Pete flordia were they could narrow it down to for the best treatment for their baby. Being that St Pete is out of the state & CHOP being as good as they are with these babies with their success rates, Their own CDH research program they decided on going with CHOP in Philadelphia Pa.

Fast forward their first appointment at Philly was a full day of scans, MRI, echos, sonogram, etc to find out 100% what baby L in particular looked like and what exactly was wrong.

They found out a ton of information this day & were told baby L in fact has CDH & her stomach, bowel, spleen, & tip of the liver is in her chest. Showing that she had 26% lung volume total & put her in the moderate to severe side of CDH. They then explained what all comes with this diagnosis & said with baby L in particular they gave her a 70% chance of survival & explained all avenues they can take once baby is actually here after delivery.

She will need surgery once she is stable which could be 24 hours after birth or weeks after birth (it’s all up to her once she gets here)

They explained that if she’s not stable on her own they have something called ECMO which is the highest form of life support for baby that they can get her going on.

After surgery will come a lengthy stay because of feedings, hypertension, gastro along with everything else that is possible with this diagnosis & were given the news that it could be 4-6 months of a hospital stay after baby is here.

They explained every baby is different and they really can’t give an exact length of hospital stay until baby is here.

Since they live more then 2+ hours away from CHOP ( around 6 hours) they have to relocate.

They were to be relocated by last week by the time Britany was 34 weeks (The last week of July 2021) however that didn’t go as they had planned when their car decided to stop running & they were stuck with not only having to find a new vehicle but also the costs of relocating with their 3 kiddos + costs back home to keep their home here.

Graham (father of baby L) was thankfully able to take a leave of absence from work but unfortunately it’s all un paid other then 16 hours of vacation time..

so with this all comes the stress financially of having to keep their home back here with upkeep of bills, rent, etc + now also having to finically be able to carry the costs of lodging, food, transportation, gas, bills, copays, & everything else that comes with relocating to Philadelphia.

They have a 5,3, & almost 2 year old that will be relocating with them which in itself is going to be a HUGE transition for them all so all the prayers are highly appreciated.

We are starting this go fund me page to help in anyway. Be it donating, sharing, or just educating others on what CDH is & how it affects a family going through this.

We want to thank each and everyone of you for taking the time to read this.

There will also be a Facebook page created for anyone wanting to follow along with baby L’s journey. We will keep everyone updated as everything plays out.

Britany is scheduled to be induced August 16th 2021 so we are trying anything we can think of At this point to help them out in a time of need and get them relocated to Philly ASAP.

Prayers are appreciated and I know they will be grateful for any help we can get them.

Thank you everyone