Good news from John Hunter Children’s Hospital

As the COVID-19 situation continues, the team at John Hunter Children’s Hospital are working incredibly hard to protect and care for sick children and their families within our community.

Despite the pandemic there is good news. After receiving an antenatal diagnosis that baby Fox had congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH), it was no surprise to his parents that he would need care in the NICU at John Hunter Children’s Hospital after being born at 39 weeks. CDH is a birth defect that occurs when a baby’s diaphragm fails to fully form, allowing abdominal organs to enter the chest cavity and preventing lung growth. Following successful surgery to repair the hernia, Fox has now left the NICU. He is at home and is expected to live a happy, healthy life.

Brock is the current 10-year-old New Zealand Champion in Martial Arts, placing second in the Australian Oceania Championships in Muay Thai and second in the Australian Titles for Kickboxing. The now 11-year-old has achieved all this while having a rare inherited bleeding disorder called Von Willebrand Disease (VWD). People with VWD have a problem with a protein in their blood that controls bleeding. They either don’t have enough of it or it doesn’t work the way it should.

Brock’s medical team at John Hunter Children’s Hospital work with Brock and his family to manage his condition, along with providing clearance and advice when he is competing. As tough as this 11-year-old is, he also knows his boundaries and always carries his medicine with him, along with wearing a medic alert bracelet.

Well done Brock, you’re an inspiration to us all!
Read more in the Winter issue of Hunter&Coastal Lifestyle Magazine or subscribe here.