I hope to remember as I watch Little Emery grow...

*This is the Queen Aunt's (aka me) version of the story.*

 

The past few weeks have been rough ones for little Emery.  About a week after she was born, Heather noticed little Emery gasping for breath and seemed to be struggling to breathe at times.  Heather called the on-call pediatrician who instructed her to go to the local emergency room and have the baby checked out.  Well, they sent her home saying everything fine.  However, Heather still felt things weren't quite right.  At an appointment with the pediatrician a few days later he admitted Emery to the hospital in Pocatello where they gave her oxygen and watched her overnight.  The next day, after little to no improvement with the oxygen, it was decided to send Emery to a specialist.  Emery was life-flighted to Primary Children's in SLC on Saturday April 13, 2013. 

 

 

 

More tests were done at Primary's.  Emery was diagnosed with coarctation of aorta (or narrowing of the aorta) and a bicuspid aortic valve (meaning that there are only two instead of three parts to the valve).  They are also doing genetic testing.  Next step, open heart surgery.

 Open heart surgery was perform Monday, April 15, 2013.  The surgery took close to 5 hours.  The doctors and nurses stated the surgery went well and Emery is recovering well. 

 April 18, 2013 - Considerably less cords and wires and machines hooked up the Little Emery.  Plans are to transfer her from the NICU to the floor in a day or two. 

Lots of lessons to be learned from this "trial".  And lots of blessings have manifested themselves as well.   My perspective is that of being an outsider looking in.  I haven't even been to Primary's yet (although I plan to go so).  Thank goodness for technology to keep me connected!!  Faith, prayers, fasting, hope, the plan of salvation, the atonement....the gospel becomes foremost in one's mind as I reflect on the story of Emery...

Being in the medical profession, you hear these kinds of stories all the time....sometimes the outcomes are marvelous and happy and other times it tugs at your heart and makes you shed tears of sadness....but it's always someone's else's baby, a distant, unknown, perhaps surreal story.  This time, it's a little more close to home.  A little more real.  A little more personal. 

I hope that as I watch little Emery grow, I remember to be a little more compassionate, a little more faithful, a little more grateful to our Father in Heaven who has heard and answered our prayers, who has strengthen and supported Heather and Russell and watched over Little Emery every step of the way.