Featured CDH International’s Colorado Ambassador is Marissa Sanchez. Marissa is the mom to CDH survivor Evelyn.
Marissa is a stay-at-home-mom with three children. She is a Denver native, currently living in Brighton, Colorado. She enjoys playing piano, painting, revitalizing old furniture, reading, hiking and doing anything outside. Evelyn, her second child was diagnosed with CDH at a 20 week anatomy scan at UC Health and was given a 10% chance of survival.
Marissa and her husband Nick opted for a second opinion at Children’s Hospital Colorado. There they met Jason Gien and the CDH team who gave them much more hope, with a 90% chance. Evelyn spent 7 weeks in the NICU, during which time she had a pulmonary embolism and several other complications. She fought hard and was able to leave the NICU with only a feeding tube and oxygen. Later in her first year of life she also spent 4 months in the hospital due to GI related issues. Today, she is a happy and energetic 7 year old who will be starting 2nd grade in the Fall. Evelyn struggles with GI issues, motility, EOE and Eosinophilic Colitis. The family will always be grateful for the information provided by CDHi, which led them to the CDH team at Children’s Hospital.
