On September 15th Kenzie and Cameron Guzman were told something no parent anticipates or wants to hear. “There is something wrong with your baby girl, but we need to send you to a specialist who can tell you exactly what it is.”

A long week of uncertainty followed until they were sent to the fetal medical center for additional ultrasounds; from there, it was confirmed that baby Gabby had a Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia (CDH), which affects 1 in 2,500 babies. The severity ranges greatly, but it’s a hole in the developing diaphragm, which typically blocks organs from the abdominal cavity from entering the chest cavity. Gabby’s diaphragm didn’t form all the way, so it has allowed some of her organs, such as her liver and stomach, to come through, pushing on her heart and leaving little space for her lungs to develop fully.

While CDH is scary and complicated on its own, they also found an uncommon type of congenital lung lesion. Known also as pulmonary sequestration, bronchopulmonary sequestration (BPS) is a rare birth defect in which a portion of the baby's lung tissue develops without being attached to the airways. Doctors are monitoring mom and baby very closely to see if the lung mass continues to grow. If the mass continues to grow, it takes up even more space in the baby’s chest which is already crowded due to the CDH.

Shortly after birth, Gabby will have a reparative procedure done to push all of her organs in the correct position and add an artificial diaphragm to close up that area to give his heart and lungs more space to grow and develop in the NICU. We have been given an estimate of 3-4 months in the NICU with no guarantees of success. Following baby Gabby’s diaphragmatic hernia surgery, she will have to have a second surgery to remove the lung mass. They do these separately as they do not want to put too much stress on the baby as she will not be able to eat or breathe on her own as she first enters the world.

Cameron and Kenzie have been married for a year and a half and have a 5-year-old daughter Sophia who is in Kindergarten to also take care of. Kenzie is a teacher who, unfortunately, does not get paid maternity leave without getting days donated by her coworkers.

The funds raised will be directly applied to meeting their insurance deductibles, co-pays, travel expenses driving to and from Aurora to Colorado Children’s Hospital, and aid in paying bills while Kenzie and Cameron are out of work, in addition to housing in Aurora while anticipating babies arrival.

We ask that even if you are unable to donate, please share and spread the word.