Teddy Droegemueller

Welcome to our CaringBridge website. We are using it to keep family and friends updated in one place. Vanessa and Mark were thrilled last summer to announce that they were officially expanding their family beyond their beloved chihuahua's, Bambi & Fiona! They were (finally!) expecting a baby to arrive in March 2018.  The excitement continued to grow throughout an uneventful pregnancy, especially because baby's gender was not to be revealed until his/her arrival.  As Vanessa watched her due date come and go, she finally began to go in to labor the night before Easter (March 31. 2018).  Late in the evening on Easter (April 1, 2018) Vanessa and Mark decided it was finally time to make the journey to the hospital.  However, this baby was proving his stubborn side and waited until roughly 5:45 pm on April 2nd to make HIS grand entrance.  Theodore James was born a healthy 8 pounds with a head FULL of black hair (we all knew THAT was going to happen!).  Immediately after sweet Teddy's arrival, the medical staff noticed that Teddy's body was very pale/bluish and his cry was more of a shallow squeak, he did not have the coloring  or the wail of a healthy newborn.  Vanessa or Mark never had the chance to hold, kiss, or snuggle their greatest love before he was whisked away to the NICU.  It was then that they did a chest x-ray which  revealed that Teddy's intestines are actually in his chest cavity.  Each year in the United States 1 in 2500 babies are born with  Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia (CDH) and our Teddy is that one.  This was a complete shock as Vanessa had multiple prenatal ultrasounds and it was never detected.  The good news is  that Teddy's lungs appear to be well developed, leading his medical professionals to believe that while his diaphragm was not properly formed in early life stages, his internal organs did not migrate until much later in the pregnancy.  He will require surgery within the next week to repair his diaphragm and "readjust" his organs within his abdomen.  Teddy is currently doing well, but is on a ventilator and has a feeding tube.  This means that Mark and Vanessa cannot hold or feed their sweet boy.  After surgery Teddy's hospital stay is expected to last an additional 4-8 weeks.  Please follow this Caring Bridge page for updates and keep Vanessa, Mark, and Teddy in your prayers.