This blog was originally created to disseminate information about Andrew, our son who was born on June 15, 2007. Andrew was born with a congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) that allowed abdominal organs (stomach, intestines, etc) to migrate into his chest cavity during development. This prohibited normal lung growth, making it difficult for him to live without significant life support, including a ventilator, a lung bypass machine called ECMO, and a long list of medications.
Andrew spent the next five months at Rady Children's Hospital in San Diego, undergoing multiple operations for the hernia repair, intestinal rearrangement, stomach tube insertion, etc. Multiple attempts to help him breathe on his own without a ventilator were unsuccessful due to a number of anatomical and developmental difficulties. Andrew's failure to progress and an abundance of overwhelmingly unfavorable test results led us to remove him from life support and let nature take its course on November 19, 2007.
We greatly appreciate the time we were able to spend with Andrew, and this blog continues as a source for information, a tribute to his memory, and a continuation of our lives without him present. From the emotional to the mundane, our lives have been forever changed by his presence; those lives are now chronicled here.
He is gorgeous...and looks fantastic for all he's been through. He is definitely a "strong little man" and he's got the best parents, who are incredibly strong themselves!
ReplyDeleteHugs and love to you all!
AHHH he looks so good. Andrew Im so proud of you!! He looks so peaceful when he is sleeping.
ReplyDeleteLove you three,
Linds
to steal from richard hugo-
ReplyDeleteMay kisses rain.
May you find warm arms each morning.
May your favorite tree be blooming in December.
And may you never be dispossessed, forced to wander a world the color of salt with no young music in it.
i know that good things will come to such a beautiful boy!
marion and john powers