Rebecca Ramsey

Unlike a lot of young mothers, Rebecca Ramsey went into motherhood with not just anticipatory joy, but unshakeable confidence. She always knew she wanted to be a mom. Plus, she had the benefit of a lot of hands-on experience with her niece and nephews. She conceived her second child shortly after her son’s first birthday and went into it with the same joyful, unwavering enthusiasm that she had greeted her son with only a short time prior. Her daughter’s CDH diagnosis was originally misdiagnosed at 26 weeks as a much more minor defect. Four weeks later at a follow up ultrasound, the discovery was made about her CDH. While still managing her rigorous schedule for care of her special needs son, she dove into the research of what to expect from CDH and how to best support her daughter, Maddison.

“During all this time we just prayed and hoped everything would work out. An elder in our church told me to take communion daily and pray. I would sit in her room and just weep. I would beg God to heal my baby. Through that, I received peace! I just knew in my heart everything was going to be okay from that point on.”

Her daughter Maddison was lucky…or was it some divine intervention? Lucky to have such community support in her mom and dad’s hometown, lucky to have such a dedicated momma, and lucky to have a less severe case of CDH. Though still traumatizing, Maddison was able to come home from the hospital after 23 days.

Now, her mom Rebecca is dedicating her studies to a career in nursing to helping other families struggling with a CDH diagnosis, pursuing either a focus in operating room nursing, home healthcare, or palliative care/hospice. “I feel each of these fields hit different aspects of the process. Each one is equally important in making sure CDH patients receive what they need according to their circumstances,” she told us. We can’t wait to see the positive impact she will continue to have on her family and within her community.

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