Support for the Nakamura Family
Donation protected
Jena is one of my friends and is expecting baby number two to join their family.
Baby has been diagnosed with a congenital diaphragmatic hernia, this means that when baby is born they will need surgery to be able to survive.
This means a huge life shift aside from the typical of adding in a new child.
This means missed work, therapy sessions (because this is a huge stress) paying for food and parking at the hospital, child care for their first born little girl, and so many other things that to list would take forever.
This family is so loving and giving and could use any support people are willing to give.
Shared by Jena
”Last week, Teo and I got some unexpected news. What I thought was a routine ultrasound, ended in me waiting alone in a consult room for a conversation with a doctor that I could feel wouldn’t end well. After an initial misdiagnosis, and then a follow up ultrasound, we have our answers.
Our “Little” has a condition called a Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia. This essentially means that’s there’s a hole in their diaphragm (the muscle that separates the lower abdominal organs from the chest cavity and aids in breathing). This has allowed their bowel to move up into the chest cavity.
This causes an issue because the left lung is completely collapsed and cannot open due to the bowels taking up the space. This means that’s when the baby is born, their lungs will not have developed in utero. We will have a full term baby with preemie lungs. Because of this, baby will be intubated as soon as they’re born and will have a ventilator to breathe for them. Once stable, they’ll be transferred to the Alberta Children’s Hospital and will undergo surgery to repair the hernia within the first 3-7 days of life. They will then remain in the NICU until their lungs are fully developed. We can’t know how long this process will take. The rates of survival for this condition is about 70-80%.
I share this because I believe we should share the hard stuff as well as the joyful. We remain hopeful and are thankful to have a lot of support from our extensive medical team, our midwives, and our friends and family.
#congenitaldiaphragmatichernia”
Baby has been diagnosed with a congenital diaphragmatic hernia, this means that when baby is born they will need surgery to be able to survive.
This means a huge life shift aside from the typical of adding in a new child.
This means missed work, therapy sessions (because this is a huge stress) paying for food and parking at the hospital, child care for their first born little girl, and so many other things that to list would take forever.
This family is so loving and giving and could use any support people are willing to give.
Shared by Jena
”Last week, Teo and I got some unexpected news. What I thought was a routine ultrasound, ended in me waiting alone in a consult room for a conversation with a doctor that I could feel wouldn’t end well. After an initial misdiagnosis, and then a follow up ultrasound, we have our answers.
Our “Little” has a condition called a Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia. This essentially means that’s there’s a hole in their diaphragm (the muscle that separates the lower abdominal organs from the chest cavity and aids in breathing). This has allowed their bowel to move up into the chest cavity.
This causes an issue because the left lung is completely collapsed and cannot open due to the bowels taking up the space. This means that’s when the baby is born, their lungs will not have developed in utero. We will have a full term baby with preemie lungs. Because of this, baby will be intubated as soon as they’re born and will have a ventilator to breathe for them. Once stable, they’ll be transferred to the Alberta Children’s Hospital and will undergo surgery to repair the hernia within the first 3-7 days of life. They will then remain in the NICU until their lungs are fully developed. We can’t know how long this process will take. The rates of survival for this condition is about 70-80%.
I share this because I believe we should share the hard stuff as well as the joyful. We remain hopeful and are thankful to have a lot of support from our extensive medical team, our midwives, and our friends and family.
#congenitaldiaphragmatichernia”
Organizer and beneficiary
Randi van Wiltenburg
Organizer
Calgary, AB
Jenavieve Nakamura
Beneficiary