Today’s featured cherub is Liliana Casella. Liliana is the daughter of Renata Casella. Renata had this to share about her daughter:
Our story fortunately had a miraculous outcome. The defect was caught at 32 weeks pregnant. The team of doctors and ultrasound technicians decided to admit me to the hospital for a few days while they ran the appropriate tests. At the end, we found that while our daughter’s entire large intestine had traveled into her left lung and shifted her heart, the vital organs (stomach, liver, pancreas, etc.) remained put and her chances of survival were over 90%. Although this was a stressful and trying time, the most important part was that we had a plan in place for my pregnancy and delivery.
My daughter, Liliana (“Lily”) Rose Casella, was delivered by c-section at 36 weeks and 6 days with a loud scream – which could not have made my husband and me any happier. She was 20 inches long and weighed about 6.3 ounces. On delivery, she was immediately intubated and so I did not get to see or hold her but hearing her cry was enough at the time. She was brought to the NICU and it was determined that although she was on the ventilator to help her breathe she was breathing room air and was strong. And so on her first day of life, Dr. Frederick Alexander (an amazing surgeon!) performed her surgery to move her large intestine back into place and to close the large hole in her diaphragm. She stayed in the NICU for an additional 8 days after her surgery, where she recovered and grew.
We took her home about 2 weeks after delivery and were prepared for a slew of issues that we had been warned about with CDH babies. She was put on a course of anti-reflux medicine and the doctors continued to monitor her for the weeks and months after her surgery. At her second birthday she had her final check-ups with the doctors (including the cardiologist) and was given a clean bill of health! We were very fortunate that there were no gastroenterological or developmental issues.
She is now a happy 4 year old and a big sister. You would never know that she went through this ordeal! Four years later I can now talk about what we went through without crying at every word.”
