‘He was dying:’ KC baby recovers from rare birth defect as mom graduates from med school

For three months, Elle Quinn spent countless nights in the NICU at Children’s Mercy Hospital holding onto hope her newborn son, Samuel, would survive a rare birth defect.

Doctors told her there was a 50/50 chance at survival.

“He was dying, and they said there was nothing else they could do,” Quinn said.

Samuel was born with congenital diaphragmatic hernia, or CDH for short. The condition causes the diaphragm — the layer of muscle and tissue between the chest and abdominal cavity — to form with a hole in it. Organs in the abdomen can move through that hole and upwards into a baby’s chest, preventing the lungs from developing.

As Samuel was cared for by the Children’s medical team, Quinn was trying to focus on her last semester at KCU’s medical school.

“When I left my first appointment when he was diagnosed, I was trying to hold it together and be strong,” Quinn said. “But it’s okay to show your emotion and let your providers comfort you. There are so many people there to support you.”

As Quinn passed her classes, Samuel made a miraculous recovery. His family just celebrated Samuel turning four months old, and they just celebrated Elle’s graduation from medical school on Saturday.

With her experience, Quinn will enter her residency at Southern Illinois University’s Center for Family Medicine with a firm grasp of how medicine is both an art of science and compassion when providing care.