Let's Start at the Very Beginning...

On September 15th, Katy and Andy found out that Baby Jacob has a life-threatening condition called Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia (CDH). CDH is a very serious condition in which a hole in the diaphragm allows abdominal organs to move into the chest restricting lung development. In Jacob's case, his liver is also squishing his heart and displacing other organs. CDH occurs in about 1 out of every 3,000 pregnancies and has a mortality rate of 50%. To make matters more complicated, Jacob has Right-Sided CDH which only occurs in about 10% of CDH cases and is typically more severe. They are so blessed to have found this out when they did, or Baby Jacob would have surely died at birth.

They will be delivering at UW Hospital in Seattle and later transferred to Seattle Children’s. Thank you to everyone who has already begun praying, and everyone who will now. Baby Jacob is blessed to have all of you thinking and praying for him.

A Change of Plans

Update from Andy & Katy

Oct 6, 2011 -Today we met again with UW medical staff to discuss Jacob's birth plan. It continues to be a "when Jacob is born we'll know what we're up against" plan. However, the neonatologist informed us of the spectrum of possible expectations. He believes Jacob will fall somewhere in the middle of best/worst case scenarios. He was wonderful at answering our many questions and further educating us on the medical history and care of CDH babies and the most recent developments in neonate care.

Following the neonatologist appointment, we met with Katy's OB/GYN. She is concerned that Katy won't make it to our original plan of delivering on the 28th. Katy is already dilated @ 3 cm. If Katy continues to dilate to 4-5 cm by next Wednesday's appointment, she will be admitted to UW Hospital.


Katy's current status, history of quick dilation and delivery, on top of her excess of amniotic fluid and contractions, led to a change in plans. Our current plan is delivery on the 21st. On that day, an aminocentesis will be done first to ensure Jacob's lung tissue is mature enough for ventilation. Katy will be 38 weeks along at that time.


Thank you to everyone for you love, support, and most especially your prayers. Please continue to pray for Katy and Baby Jacob. Pray for Katy to remain pregnant as long as possible to ensure the best possible outcomes for Jacob.

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