As mentioned in the last post, I was going to go meet with Dr. Henry Galan. I was trying to be optimistic that this experience would be different. Thankfully, Dr. Galan had much better bedside manners. He was never optimistic about the prognosis, but treated me with more respect, knowing that termination was not an option for us.

During this visit, I learned that she has a left-sided diaphragmatic hernia…also, that her case of CDH is severe. He measured the Lung-to-Head ratio (LHR). My research to this point showed that:

1.4 or greater – mild CDH
1.0 – 1.4 – moderate CDH
< 1.0 – severe CDH Our baby girl’s CDH measured out at .8 LHR. Along with this, he mentioned that the left lobe of her liver was present in her chest cavity, another sign of severity. In his report, he wrote, “The presence of the liver in the chest as well as the LHR of less than 1 places the fetal prognosis in the less favorable category with survival approximately 20% at best.” Tomorrow, the fetal echo is scheduled. Although it was scheduled with the initial group of doctors, I kept the appointment. I was anxious to find out whether or not there was any heart defects. Up to this point, everything else was tracking “normal” for her…it seems that the missing diaphragm is the only obstacle so far. Although this is serious and can be lethal for her, many times babies with CDH carry other abnormalities which make the fight for life even tougher.