Wyatt Koger, Westminster, MD

Wyatt was born in October 2007 with congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH), a condition marked by a partly missing diaphragm — the muscle separating the chest from the abdomen — which allows the stomach, intestines, liver, kidneys and spleen to move up in the chest cavity and push on the heart and lungs. The resulting pressure on the heart and lungs disrupts breathing and circulation. Half of the babies born with CDH don’t survive.

Wyatt spent the first 13 days of his life hooked up to an ECMO machine — purchased with the help of Radiothon dollars — that is used to temporarily oxygenate the blood of patients whose hearts and lungs are too weak or damaged to do so on their own. ECMO carries substantial risks, including brain bleeding and stroke. Critical-care specialists Ivor Berkowitz and James Fackler cared for Wyatt during this high-risk period.

LISTEN to Wyatt's Story - Radiothon 2011

At 13 days old, Wyatt underwent the first of what would become a series of complex surgeries to repair his CDH with surgeons Fizan Abdullah, Henry Lau and Nicole Chandler.

Wyatt suffered a hemorrhage in his brain after the first surgery, and pediatric neurosurgeon Ben Carson placed a shunt in one of his brain ventricles. Wyatt also developed vocal cord paralysis shortly after his breathing tube was removed.

It was a long journey with many ups and downs but, finally, at age 5 months, Wyatt went home for the first time since he was born. In the following year and a half, Wyatt would have three more surgeries.  Wyatt is nearly 3 now and his family calls him a “little miracle.” Wyatt is still not walking, but on Jan. 15, 2011, he stood up on his own for the first time, a critical milestone in his recovery.

The Kogers are immensely grateful to the incredible surgeons, critical care specialists, neurologists and nurses at Hopkins Children’s.