Meet Oliver...
Meet Oliver…
An unexpected miracle after devastating loss.
On August 1, 2020 Kimberly and her husband Carlos discovered they were pregnant. Instead of being excited and jumping for joy, they felt only fear. You see, this was not Kimberly’s first pregnancy. It was not her second pregnancy. It was her third pregnancy and yet she and Carlos remained childless. Their journey to parenthood began in April 2017 when at 16 weeks pregnant it was discovered that their daughter Felicity had no heartbeat. “It was my worst nightmare come true,” remembers Kimberly.
After months of grieving, she and her husband began trying to conceive again. She would go on to have 2 more miscarriages before deciding to seek the help of a fertility specialist. In July of 2018, they became pregnant, this time with a little boy! Dominick. They were ecstatic! Everything seemed perfect. The progesterone injections were working and the pregnancy was progressing. This excitement came to an end at their 12 week ultrasound when they were told 4 words that would change their lives forever… “Your baby has CDH.”
“I could not believe this was happening, after everything we had been through. I was numb and shocked.”
Kimberly was referred to Johns Hopkins Maternal Fetal Medicine in Baltimore for the remainder of her pregnancy. At their 20 week visit they were told their son’s CDH was extremely severe and they were encouraged to think about Dominick's quality of life.
“We were faced with the biggest decision… They made it seem like our only choice was to terminate him.”
Utter devastation. Uncontrollable crying. Questioning. Becoming physically ill. Praying to wake up from this nightmare… and yet again, leaving the hospital with empty arms. It would be months before they felt any semblance of normalcy. She and Carlos could not fathom going through this heartache again so they made the decision to stop. To stop trying, hoping, praying, believing that bringing a baby home would be in their future.
Surprise! Fast forward to August 1, 2020, they discovered they were pregnant. On December 2, 2020, she and Carlos sat at their 20 week anatomy scan hearing yet again, “Your son has CDH.”
“Why? Just Why?!”
This time they were referred to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). With the team at CHOP behind them every step of the way, Kimberly and her husband vowed to do everything they could to save their son. Things would be different for Oliver. While filled with fear, this time they were also filled with something else. Hope. The staff at CHOP are experienced with CDH and were ready to fight this diagnosis right alongside Kimberly and her husband.
On April 7, 2021 Oliver Allen Spriggs made his grand entrance into the world.
He was immediately intubated and at 4 hours old he was placed on ECMO. He was stable enough to have his repair surgery at 20 days old.
Then at 34 days old, the seemingly impossible happened…
Kimberly was finally able to hold her miracle baby in her arms.
Ollie still had a battle ahead, fighting infections that would nearly cost him his life. With his mommy and daddy, and the incredible team at CHOP by his side he faced each and every one of them!
After 351 long days in the NICU, Kimberly and Carlos left the hospital yet again, this time their arms were not empty.
In January of 2023, Kimberly reached out to the CDH Foundation for support.
Ollie had spiked a high fever and was struggling to breathe. He was taken to CHOP where he was admitted and later diagnosed with human metapneumovirus, which is similar to RSV.
He would spend 5 days at CHOP before returning home.
We would like to extend a big thank you to Kimberly and Carlos for sharing their story with us. While we are so sorry this has been your journey, we are thankful The CDH Foundation could help relieve some of the stress so you can focus on what is most important, Ollie.
If you are reading this and would like to help babies just like Ollie not just survive but THRIVE in spite of CDH, please consider partnering with us! Visit: https://www.thecdhfoundation.org/5tothrive for more information.