Today’s featured cherub is Baylor Cooper. Baylor is the son of Amy Cooper and she had this to say about her son’s journey with CDH:
“When we found out that we were expecting our third child, it was a surprise. Our little family was so excited. The day that we went in to find out the sex of our baby was the day our world turned upside down or so I thought. A happy day suddenly turned to tears, shock, prayers for our child because there was so many unknowns, and feeling like the air had been knocked out of you. Little did I know that would happen frequently over the next few months. We never had even heard of CDH.
Now we are being sent to UAB to see specialist, but we had faith that it would all be okay. So week after week I went to doctors checking Baylor’s progress. Every trip to UAB, I prayed for that hernia to be gone, but it never was. Then came Baylor’s birthday! February 8,2016. I just knew that baby would come out screaming to let the world know he was here and healthy. It didn’t go my way, but that day began a journey that has forever changed us, but in good ways in spite of the heartache that would come with it. Baylor went on ECMO a few days after birth, had his hernia repaired on day 4, and was doing pretty good for a few weeks. Things were looking up,but then several setbacks came his way in March that he never recovered from and weeks on ECMO had taken its tole. His lungs wouldn’t open after attempts to help them. So on Sunday,March 20,2016 we decided he had been through enough and his time to go to his heavenly home was here. He was 5 weeks and 6 days old.
After getting to finally be held by us and his big brother & sister, meet several family members and friends who had waited for weeks to meet him, and had a few hours to getting to be held and snuggled close, he was taken off of ECMO and passed away in mine and my husband arms. That day is forever etched in my mind as a day of so much happiness and sadness all at once, but through it all we had peace with this was Baylor’s plan and as time has passed we have learned of how he changed people’s lives, touched people thousands of miles away & in other countries that followed his journey, and his life and cdh journey definitely changed us. We know truly understand how fragile life is, that nightmares do come true, but God has carried us through this valley that CDH brought us to. He will make a way when there doesn’t seem like one.
I wish that we had a wonderful survival story to share like so many others do, but I think that the other side of it needs to be shared also. It’s just as real as the survival side, it’s just not as pleasing to read about. This is why CDH needs to be known worldwide and fought for. Our Baylor and many others are the reason why CDH needs to one day not be a 50% survival rate for these babies. There needs to be more survivals than losses. These are someone’s baby that you’re fighting for.”
