Seth's Story

Photos courtesy of See & Believe Photography
Meet Seth, a four-month-old, beautiful baby boy. This Tiny light loves to cuddle, has 


lots of smiles to share, and plays his days away. 

Seth was diagnosed with Congenital Diaphramic Hernia (CDH) at 25 weeks gestation. This means that his diaphragm did not fully form while he was developing, which left a hole between his chest and abdominal cavities. This hole allowed abdominal organs to grow in the chest cavity, causing the lungs to be underdeveloped. Seth’s heart is displaced to the right side of his chest. His left lung is only one third developed and the right side is nearly full. His underdeveloped lungs led Seth to struggle with pulmonary hypertension. He was incubated at one minute of life to help him breathe and he underwent an 8-hour surgery to repair the hernia at only nine days old. Following surgery, the strong fighter in Seth came out. He amazed the doctors with his fast recovery. He was discharged at 42 days old and continued to improve once at home. 

Seth must still see his doctor once a month and receives immunization against the RSV virus.  His parents have to limit the contact they have with the outside world as it is imperative to his health that they prevent any illness in his first year of life. CDH has been linked to an increase in childhood hearing loss, so that will be a concern in the future. Seth also has a coloboma in his left eye, causing his pupil to not respond to light as 
well as it should, and hemifacial microsoma, which means one side of his face is 
smaller than the other. He could eventually require surgery on his jaw.

Finding out about Seth’s condition during the pregnancy was very difficult and led to many sleepless nights, self-doubt, and constant worries. Seth was already loved so much, and his mom and dad were terrified of not bringing their sweet baby home from the hospital. Once Seth was born, it was an incredible struggle to watch Seth go through surgery and pain and to be helpless to make it all better. It was a terrible experience for his parents to not be able to bring Seth home when his Mom was discharged from the hospital. 

Seth has two older siblings, and his parents were concerned about how all of this would affect them. These children have shown amazing strength and are Mom and Dad’s heroes! Seth is a hungry, growing little munchkin who loves to eat. His cuddles, smiles, and sweet baby coos melt hearts. His family loves to watch this amazingly strong boy grow and learn. He should be able to have a healthy future, but will have to continue yearly doctor visits and x-rays. All that Seth’s parents wish is for Seth to “live a completely healthy life, and that his CDH will not touch his future.”