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Tuesday, March 31, 2009

March 31st is CDH Awarenss Day!!


Since today is CDH Awareness Day, please be sure to wear turquoise and spread awareness of congenital diaphragmatic hernia. Today we celebrate all of our shining stars who have fought through this defect, and won. We also celebrate those who grew wings and became angels. All of these children will FOREVER be in ALL of our hearts... and with your help we'll be able to make the whole world know what CDH is all about. For more information, please visit http://www.chdawareness.com/ . Thank you from all the CDH familes!!!

This is an explination of what CDH is from the Breath of Hope website....
There are 3 types of congenital diaphragmatic hernias: Bochdalek hernia, Morgagni hernia, and bilateral diaphragmatic hernia. The Bochdalek hernia or left-sided is the most common, occurring in approximately 85% of cases. Left-sided hernias allow the small and large bowel and intra-abdominal solid organs to herniate into the thoracic cavity. In Morgagni or right-sided hernias, only the liver and a portion of the large bowel tend to herniate. Bilateral hernias are uncommon and usually fatal.Statistically, a congenital diaphragmatic hernia birth defect occurs in every 1 in 2,000 live births in the United States and accounts for 8% of all major congenital anomalies. This figure translates to approximately 1,800 live babies born with the congenital diaphragmatic hernia birth defect every year. In comparison, cystic fibrosis occurs in every 1 in 3,000 live births in the United States, and spina bifida has an occurrence of every 1 in 1,478 live births. Congenital diaphragmatic hernias occur just as often as cystic fibrosis and spina bifida, but congenital diaphragmatic hernias often have fatal results.Each child who has congenital diaphragmatic hernia is different, no two children respond to treatment the same way. Nobody can accurately predict the outcome.

We were VERY fortunate that Angela had the Bochdalek hernia... and today she is a VERY healthy and happy almost 4 year old. Until that fateful day at Univeristy of Pennsylvania, we had NEVER heard anything about CDH. Since then, we've met MANY children who have faced the same challenges and are doing GREAT today!! So, please join us in a day of awareness...
Thanks Again!!!

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