The Martin Family

Scroll down to see updates as the Martin family progresses in their CDH Journey! (All updates are written and given by parents with consent)

Initial Backstory

At 20 weeks, my family found out we were welcoming another baby boy; however, 2 days later, we were given an official diagnosis of CDH. We were referred to a hospital in AL for treatment, but after much research and prayer, we decided to seek treatment from Dr. Kays at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital. 3 weeks before my induction, my husband and I, along with our 4 children, moved 8 hours from home. On June 21, Everett Josiah joined our family. Unfortunately he experienced some complications immediately after birth and ended up on ECMO within 3 hours. At that point, we knew our family would be dislocated for longer than we anticipated. Due to the size of our family, we are renting a home in FL, and at this point, my husband has started traveling back and forth to work to extend his FMLA. Everett recently came off ECMO after spending a total of 28 days on it. This grant will help our family in many ways, including gas for traveling and groceries to feed our family. Thank you for your support!

Update 8/27/25

Everett is turning 5 weeks old this week and doing well on the ventilator. As long as he continues to progress, he should come off this week. We are so excited to hold him for the first time!

Update 9/30/25

Everett has been working on feeding this past month, but unfortunately, he continues to vomit multiple times a day. He had a GI study done 2 weeks ago that showed he has severe reflux. We have been trying different medication to try to avoid surgery, but it’s looking like he will need a nissen/g-tube surgery done. Despite his severe, Everett is such a joyful and happy baby. He enjoys kicking his visual cards, tummy time, and being held by his daddy, mommy, and siblings.

Update 10/29/25

This past month Everett turned 3 months old. He had a Nissen Fundoplication surgery and got a gtube. After 98 days of being in the hospital, Everett was finally discharged. We are so proud of our little warrior!