Drake’s Journey: From Fragile Start to Fearless Toddler

Shreveport, La., family finds specialized care at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital

When Aimee and Jeremy Abbott learned they were expecting twins, the excitement was instant. They were living and loving life in Shreveport, La., with their then 13-year-old daughter Delta. Aimee said she was delighted to be starting the baby phase of life all over again.

At 17 weeks, however, Aimee’s doctor in Louisiana discovered that one of the twins, “Baby A,” had a congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH). CDH is a serious birth defect in which the diaphragm does not form correctly. When this happens, abdominal organs, including the intestines and stomach, can move into the chest cavity, leaving the lungs with limited space to grow.

Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital: Specialized Care for CDH

The news was devastating, but Aimee, now 42, and Jeremy, now 44, focused on getting their babies the best medical care available. There were so many questions to ask and so much to learn. Luckily for the family, Aimee’s doctor immediately recommended transferring her care to Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston.

CDH is a rare condition that affects about one in every 1,000 babies each year. For nearly 40 years, Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital has been providing specialized care for babies born with CDH.

“The hospital in Shreveport wasn’t equipped to handle a baby with CDH,” Aimee said. “But Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital has one of the most experienced We were going there because we wanted to give our baby every chance.”

Nationally Recognized CDH Care

Families from across the region turn to Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital for its nationally recognized specialty care for babies with CDH. The hospital’s CDH Program, also known as the Comprehensive Center for CDH Care, combines decades of experience with advanced technology and a multidisciplinary approach, providing highly coordinated, personalized care from diagnosis through long-term follow-up.

“Our multidisciplinary CDH team brings together surgeons, neonatologists, respiratory therapists and specialized nurses to care for these fragile babies from the moment they’re diagnosed (before birth) and through every critical stage into adulthood,” said Matthew Harting, MD, professor of Pediatric Surgery at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston and a pediatric surgeon affiliated with Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital. “, every child with CDH is unique and they all need specialized care. Our goal is always to give each baby the best possible chance at survival and long-term health.”

Planning for the Unknown in Houston

Because Aimee was carrying twins, her pregnancy was already considered high risk. At 39, her age added another layer of complexity. Once the CDH diagnosis was confirmed, her care team at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital, led by Dr. Harting, began coordinating every detail from delivery planning to post birth treatment options.

“We wished there was something that could have been done when we learned about the CDH, but because I was carrying twins, we knew we’d have to wait and deal with the baby’s hernia after he was born,” Aimee said.

The plan was to carry the pregnancy as long as possible, allowing Baby A’s lungs to mature before delivery. It was late August and the boys were due Oct. 15, 2022.

Aimee was planning on moving to Houston around Labor Day so she would be near the hospital in plenty of time to prepare for the twins’ birth and Baby A’s impending surgery shortly after birth.

But the week before Labor Day, Aimee recalled, the doctors told me not to wait. “They didn’t think I’d make it another week,” she said.

With her husband, Jeremy, working in Louisiana and her teenage daughter Delta in school, Aimee faced the difficult decision to relocate alone. With a plan in place—her family would drive to Houston as soon as they got the call that she was in labor—she moved to Houston on Aug. 27. She had already found an apartment near Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital, and fortunately, her mother, who lives in Arkansas, was retired and ready to join her in Houston.

Getting to Houston in the Nick of Time

Contractions began just two days later. By Aug. 30, Aimee was in active labor. “Had I waited, I would have gone into labor in Shreveport,” Aimee said. “I wouldn’t have made it to Houston and that would have changed everything.”

But she was in Houston with her mother at her side when the time came. When Jeremy got the call, he left work, picked up Delta and they hit the road as planned. But the babies were not waiting any longer.

Aimee’s blood pressure spiked and Baby B’s heart rate dropped. Doctors made the call and Aimee had an emergency Caesarian section on Aug. 31. Drake (a.k.a. Baby A) and his brother, Beaux, were born just 10 seconds apart.

Drake Faces CDH Surgery

Beaux was small but stable. Drake, however, was rushed straight from delivery to the hospital’s Level IV neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and then into surgery. CDH is graded on an A through D severity scale with Type A being the least severe. In utero, imaging suspected that Drake’s CDH was a lower risk, moderate defect. But after he was born and they had a much clearer view of the defect, plans changed quickly.

“When the babies were born, and following his surgery, the surgeon could see that Drake’s CDH was actually Type D, the most severe classification,” explained Aimee. “His stomach, spleen, liver and intestines had all pushed into his chest, compressing his lungs and heart.”

Aimee had never experienced that level of panic before. By the time the babies were transferred to the NICU, Jeremy and Delta arrived. She remembered clinging to her husband as she listened to Dr. Harting explain that Drake had been placed on ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation), a heart-lung bypass machine that allows the baby’s lungs to rest and heal.

“Dr. Harting was patient with us and very honest. He gave us both the best and worst case scenarios. He told us Drake might need ECMO and there was a chance he wouldn’t survive,” Aimee said. “But one thing he never did was give up. He promised us that he would do everything he could for our baby.”

Drake’s Surgery and NICU Recovery

In surgery, Dr. Harting carefully repositioned Drake’s organs and placed a patch to close the hole in his diaphragm. The procedure was complex, and afterward, Drake’s body swelled with fluid. Surgeons couldn’t close his skin incision until the swelling subsided.

For more than two weeks, Drake remained on ECMO. He came close to needing kidney dialysis but slowly began to stabilize. Finally, after 16 days, his lungs showed enough improvement to come off the ECMO machine.

That was the first time Aimee said she could feel hope. But, even then, feeding was a challenge. CDH babies often struggle to eat because their digestive systems and breathing patterns develop differently. Drake received nutrition through an IV at first, then through a gastric feeding tube, which went directly to his stomach.

Through every step, Aimee stayed by his side. “I was there every day on rounds,” she said. “Dr. Harting answered every question. He treated Drake like his own child.”

“Aimee was an unbelievably committed mom and she set clear goals for Drake. She wrote them down and we reviewed them together every day,” said Dr. Harting.

The Care Team Offers Compassion Beyond Medicine

Having a baby in the NICU can be overwhelming, but Aimee said the nurses at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital made it bearable. “They became like family,” she said. “They weren’t just taking care of my babies. They were taking care of me.”

She still keeps in touch with several of them, including Savannah Brown, Rosemarie Crane and Patty Sears. Savannah helped Aimee’s daughter, Delta, change Beaux’s diaper for the first time and was there the day Aimee finally held Drake—weeks after his birth. Rosemarie, a senior nurse, checked on Aimee daily to make sure she was coping emotionally. Patty cared for both twins at different times and became a motherly presence in the NICU.

“One day, I walked in and Drake was so swollen I didn’t think he’d make it,” Aimee said. “Dr. Harting came to find me. He said, ‘He’s going to be ok.’ He hugged me. He was so human. That meant everything.”

Going Home to Louisiana at Last

Beaux spent six weeks in the NICU and was discharged first. Drake stayed longer, continuing to grow stronger with each passing day. Finally, after about 10 weeks, on Nov. 6, Drake came home.

He still had a feeding tube and some medication for reflux, but he was breathing on his own. “That was the best day of my life,” Aimee said. “Walking out of that hospital and knowing I was going to have both of my boys at home finally was something I’ll never forget.”

After CDH Surgery, Drake is a ‘Miracle’ in Motion

Today, the twins are 3 years old—two loving brothers with personalities all their own. Drake is the quieter twin; he is independent and curious. He loves to swim, play in the bounce house and read books. Beaux prefers balls and bikes.

Drake’s lungs are healthy and he has no signs of chronic lung disease. He has graduated from occupational, physical and speech therapy. Each year, the family returns to Houston for checkups with the CDH team. So far, there have been no signs of reherniation, a complication that can sometimes occur in children with CDH as they grow.

“There’s always a chance, but we’ve been so fortunate,” Aimee said. “Right now, Drake can do everything other kids do. I just want him to have a happy, normal life. I don’t ever want him to think he can’t do something.”

Dr. Harting once told Aimee that Drake was a miracle. Looking at him now, she said, it’s hard to disagree. “He runs, he laughs, he’s wild and happy,” she said. “If you didn’t know his story, you’d never guess how hard he fought to get here.”

Learn more about the congenital diaphragmatic hernia program at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital »