J. W. von Schliefen
My Story........
I was born on Sept. 17, 1996 with a congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH).
There is a long explanation, w/ a lot of details about exactly what that is. But, in
short, that means that before I was born, a hole was in my diaphragm, which allowed my
stomach & intestines to fill the space in which my lungs were supposed to develop.
Since lungs develop later than digestive tract organs (because you don't need them until
you have been born) there was very little space in 
which they
could develop. Well shortly after I was born, I had to be put on a machine called
E.C.M.O. (Extra Corporeal Membrane
Oxygenation) This is basically a heart/lung machine. It took my blood & pumped it
through an artificial lung & then pumped it back into me. Four days later, the world's
best doctors did surgery to repair my hernia. I spent A LOT more time in NICU at the
hospital. My body had to learn how to breathe, & how to move food through my
intestines, since they had been re-configured during the surgery. Despite all the yucky
things the doctors & nurses did to me, I was a happy baby. (and because of all those
yucky things, I'm still here to be a happy baby!)
Anyway I would like to say thanks to all the doctors & nurses who helped me out, but especially I would like to thank all the people out there who prayed for me, and all the Angels who watched over me. Everyone says that I'm a "miracle" baby.......well I think so too, and I am so glad that so many people care about me.
Thank You All!
Links:
More detailed explanation of CDH
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