The Shell Family

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

Inital Backstory

We found out in December of 2024 that we were expecting our first child. At our very first ultrasound we were told they wanted to monitor baby closely for the weeks to follow. We were referred to MFM, and by week 16 our baby was diagnosed with LCDH. Our baby girl has been keeping us on our toes the entire duration of this pregnancy. I am currently 33 weeks pregnant and planning to relocate in the next week or two. Our girl was also diagnosed with a complex congenital heart defect at 28 weeks, which drastically changed our plans last minute on where she will need to be delivered. This journey has not been an easy one, but we are choosing to stay positive and have faith in our precious little warrior! We are so thankful to have the support of The Eden Calhoun Charitable Fund at this time. 

Update 8/27/25

We relocated to Cincinnati, Ohio (Cincinnati Children’s Hospital) instead of St. Petersburg because JHACH was unable to help us due to Drew’s added heart defect.  Our baby girl arrived August 4th. On day four of life she received a heart stent and went on ECMO shortly after . She underwent her CDH repair surgery on day six of life. She has been so strong through all of these major obstacles and we are so proud of her! She was able to come off of ECMO after being connected for 12 days. We are currently working on weaning her off of medications and the ventilator. We still have a long road ahead of us, especially with her added heart defect, but we have full faith that she will persevere. We are so thankful for what God has done for her so far!

Update 9/30/25

-Here at the ECCF, we are praying for the Shell family at this time.