The Palicki Family

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

Initial Backstory

"At our 20-week ultrasound, our baby was diagnosed with a severe right-sided congenital diaphragmatic hernia. Following our initial appointments in Pittsburgh, we were given the heartbreaking prognosis that our son’s chance of survival was estimated at just 15%. We were told our only options were termination or full-term delivery with comfort care. Hearing the words “we’re sorry for your loss” shattered us. We grieved deeply, believing we would never get the chance to bring our baby home.

But after those first devastating days, something in me couldn’t accept that this was the only path. I began researching relentlessly and discovered Dr. David Kays and his specialized CDH team at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida. After traveling there for further evaluation, we were given new hope and their team estimated our son’s survival chances between 90–95%. With that, we knew we had to do everything in our power to give our baby the best possible chance at life. 

We made the difficult but necessary decision to temporarily relocate our family from Pittsburgh to St. Petersburg at 34 weeks of pregnancy, arriving on December 6th, so that our baby could receive care from this specialized team. 

Our son, Levi Richard Palicki, was born on December 18th at 35 weeks gestation. Within a few hours of birth, he required ECMO support, and on his second day of life, he underwent repair surgery for his diaphragmatic hernia.

The first couple of days following surgery were very rocky, and he developed a significant blood clot that required removal. Since then, he has been making small but steady progress each day. He is currently 15 days old (1/2/26), and while our journey is far from over, we are encouraged by the strength he continues to show.

Any funds we receive are helping carry our family through this incredibly difficult season. They are being used to support our relocation and ease the financial strain of being far from home while Levi fights for his life. This support helps cover the cost of traveling to Florida and maintaining temporary housing large enough for our family of four and my mother-in-law, who is caring for our children while we remain at the hospital. The funds also help provide daily necessities such as groceries and meals, allowing us to stay by our baby’s side without the added worry of how we will meet basic needs. Additionally, this support assists with transportation and ongoing hospital-related expenses during our extended stay, giving us the ability to focus fully on our son’s care, healing, and recovery.

Every contribution brings us one step closer to giving Levi the fighting chance he deserves. We are deeply grateful for any support that helps us keep our family together while pursuing life-saving care for our baby.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for taking in our family and for all that you do to support those facing medical hardships."

Update 2/1/2026

"This month brought some meaningful milestones for Levi. After 24 days on ECMO, he was able to come off, and just 10 days later, he was successfully extubated on January 21st. These moments marked important steps forward in his journey. We were also able to hold him for the first time, something we had been waiting a long time for. Being able to finally hold our son after everything he has been through was incredibly special for our family. Levi is still adjusting to life off the ventilator and is working a bit harder than expected to breathe on his own, so he is receiving slightly higher support on his CPAP. While it’s difficult to watch him work so hard, his medical team has reassured us that this is not unexpected and that they are not worried at this time. He continues to make small but steady improvements each day. While there is still a long road ahead, we are encouraged by his progress and deeply grateful for the care, support, and prayers surrounding our family."

Update 3/1/2026

"February has brought slower progress for Levi as we continue working on weaning his CPAP support. One very big milestone this month is that he is now completely off all sedation. Seeing him more alert and expressive has been such a gift. They’ve attempted to take him off CPAP twice. The first time, he was able to stay off for 15 hours, which was very encouraging. However, both attempts were ultimately unsuccessful, and he needed the extra support again. He could just need more time, but in the mean time , his team is looking into possible reasons why he hasn’t tolerated being off just yet. For now, he simply needs that additional support a little while longer. The reassuring part is that he’s very comfortable at his current settings, and it has allowed him to rest and just be a baby. We’ve had some really sweet, happy days, and we are cherishing them while we prepare for the hard work ahead."