Join us this week on the CDH Radio Show, as we talk with the family of Trey Vance, as they share his journey with CDH.
Tune in at 6:00 pm EST tonight, July 29, 2021, at https://www.blogtalkradio.com/cdh/2021/07/27/july-27-2021-guests-the-vance-family.
Listen to archives of the show at http://www.cdhradio.org.
Trey is the son to our Bermuda Ambassador, Sandra Vance. Sandra had this to share with us on the support CDH International provided her and her family, “as a family we were grateful of the support that CDH International provided us after the birth of our son Trey. Living in the island of Bermuda we were not familiar with CDH although Trey’s pediatrician had seen the condition once before approximately ten years prior to his birth. This put us on a steep learning curve and CDH International assisted us with that and provided the support we needed, and we are forever GRATEFUL!”
Sandra had this to share about her pregnancy and ultimately Trey’s CDH diagnosis, “My pregnancy was uneventful other than one small issue which corrected itself in utero. Upon the birth of Trey however, this all changed and our lives as a family were turned upside down. As the condition needs specialized care, this care was not offered in our home country of Bermuda. This enacted a series of events which involved the insurance company, my company that I worked for at the present time and a medical case worker to get Trey the treatment that he needed outside of Bermuda. My insurance company policy changed two months prior to Trey’s birth, and it stated that kids with congenital conditions needed to be cared for at Sick Kids in Toronto, however Trey’s pediatrician did not have a relationship with any of the Doctors there and did not feel comfortable sending Trey there for care. My mother instincts kicked in and I demanded that we seek care at Children’s Hospital Boston. This required a complete change of policy by the insurance company and the company that I worked for at the time became involved to allow Trey to be cared for at Children’s Hospital Boston. This provided a sense of peace for us as well as his pediatrician and as a family we felt relieved at this turn of events. Trey was medevac’d out of Bermuda 10 hours after his birth to receive care.”
Sandra went on to share more about Trey’s NICU and surgery time, “I arrived in Boston three days after Trey’s birth via a commercial flight. Trey’s dad traveled with him on the medivac flight as I had a C-section and could not fly. Upon seeing my son, he did not look like the same baby that left Bermuda days prior. He was very swollen from the flight and was connected to many tubes and IV lines as well as being intubated which occurred prior to his leaving Bermuda to protect his airway during flight. We had several discussions with the doctors in Boston and they confirmed his condition as CDH as diagnosed in Bermuda however they were unclear what they would actually find once they did the corrective surgery. Trey was given a 40% chance of survival and was diagnosed with a Morgagni right sided hernia with liver and bowels up. A date for surgery was not given however the doctors advised once an operating room was available, they would call for Trey and he would need to be disconnected from all equipment and on mobile equipment and present to the operating door in ten minutes.”
We have watched Trey grow up to the young man he is and we are so very proud of him. Trey’s mom shared with us, “with God’s guidance Trey is a healthy 17-year-old loving young man with no lasting effects of his early start. He is an avid sportsman, playing tennis, cricket, football, karate and was a certified scuba diver at age 13. He has been an avid sportsman from a very young age, so his CDH had no impact on him participating in sports other than developing asthma and allergies a little later in life. We are very thankful for our miracle and our family is very proud of him!!!!”
If you are interested in sharing your child’s story and being featured on our CDH radio show and the 2022 CDH telethon, please visit https://cdhi.org/shareyourstory/.
