Welcome to our site about our son Brodie Dick who will join our family on August 8, 2011 at 8:00. At 22 weeks we went in to find out if we were having a boy or a girl and we found out that we were having a boy but that he may have a birth defect. After an agonizing week we found out that our son had CDH (Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia). CDH occurs when the diaphragm fails to fully form, allowing the abdominal organs into the chest cavity and preventing lung growth. CDH occurs in 1 of every 2500 births and a baby with CDH is born every 10 minutes. 50% of babies diagnosed with CDH do not survive. The cause is not known. This will be a journal of our journey and will allow our family and friends to keep up to date on what is happening with us and our son Brodie. Thanks for your prayers and support!


Monday, August 8, 2011

End of the First Day

Today was an amazing day!  That was not to say that we did not have our down moments.  It has been a roller coaster of good and bad news but just to see him has made all the stress and anxiety worth it.  His numbers after birth started to go down a bit but were looking very promising after lunch.  A few hours later he took a slight turn for the worse.  Even though the news isn't great we know that there should be some good news around the corner.  There are many different things that the doctors can do at this point.  One option is surgery tomorrow to repair his diaphragm.  This is not typical however he has alot of abdominal organs and they are creating issues for him.  Right now he is stable and they have increased the levels on the ventilator and are hoping that he can stay the same through the night.  He is a fighter and is trying to breathe on his own so they have given him medicine to essentially paralyze him so that he does not try to breathe.  The doctors want the machines to do their job and they can't with him fighting them.  I know there are details that I am leaving out but my brain is fried and I actually had an elevator full of people have tell me that I had arrived at my floor.  LaVona is doing good but she is tired and a little out of it.  She is a strong and amazingl person and I am so impressed at how well she has done with this each and every step of the way.  She has seen Brodie but it is difficult for her to get a real good look at him.  I know that we say this a lot but we can't thank everyone enough for the support and prayers that everyone has shown.  Without that I am not sure that we would have been able to be strong and keep it together.  Tomorrow is a very critical day so please continue the prayers and hopefully it will be a day full of great news.

3 comments:

Diane said...

To God be the glory great things He has done!!! And He will continue to hold Brodie in His healing hands.

Sonny and Bernadette said...

LaVona and Todd...Brodie is gorgeous!! Congratulations again...I know you guys are so very proud...and I bet Bradie is very excited about his baby brother. Sonny and I are continuing to pray for healing for Brodie and that God will give you guys comfort and strength through this. If there is anything I can do for you guys, please do not hesitate to ask.

Mike said...

Congrats on the new arrival. Hang in there because God had the solution before the medical issues were ever presented. He is the best doctors hands that anyone could ever ask for. He is safely being held in the palm of our savior and he is healing him in a supernatural way. Lots of prayers coming from our direction for not only Brodie but the rest of your family also.