Jenny impersonating Dr. Finger

Happy 1 week Birthday!

I know I'm biased, but she's really freaking cute!

Thanks for teaching me how to be a mother!

I couldn't have asked for a better example.

Two peas in a pod

Does this mean we have to change diapers now?

Nonie finally got her arms around Emmie.......five hours later

watch out Emmie- the triple threat

resting peacefully without any tubes!

Dr. Young- Emmie's cardiologist

Look, no tubes!

Vicki and Lisa came to visit

I am so happy to have all of those yucky tubes out!

NP Stephanie and Jenna pulled my tube!

Dr. Finger- Emmie's intensive care doc

last picture with my tube!

Jeanne (Dr. Hutchinson) pulled me out of mommy's belly

Today has been a great day! Emmie did so well overnight that the doctors pulled her 4 chest tubes and her pacer wires. They also extubated her this morning. Now we can hold and cuddle her. She is doing great as are the rest of us. Assuming no setbacks, she will be in the ICU through the weekend and then will be moved to the floor early next week. She is ahead of schedule and we appreciate her precocity.

Nonie and Bobble watching over their angel

Emmie had a good day today. Her grandmothers kept a close eye on her while we took a nap. She continues to improve and hopefully they will start taking some of those yucky tubes out of her tomorrow.

Nonie and Bobble have been a huge help already and we appreciate all that they are doing for us. Without them, we would have stinky clothes and hungry/lonely dogs. So thanks Nonie and Bobble. We love you very much.

Again, thanks to everyone that has called, prayed, texted, emailed, and fed us. The nurses think we are the best fed people around and they are happy to reap the benefits. Truly, your support and love is overwhelming and we appreciate each of you. We couldn't get through this without all of you.

Post op day 2

snuggling with her luvie

Emmie is doing well this morning. She didn't love her hat so we put it on the duckie instead. The doctors are going slow with her ventilator so she can get stronger. They hope to extubate her tomorrow.

Post op day 1

Brenda came to check in.

Mia and Kristin- some of the great nurses in the PICU

Emmie tried on her Saints hat. It didn't fit very well, but who dat!

Dr Richelle, Allison, Dr Kip, and NP Stephanie

Mary and Brenda came to visit and for dinner.

All the yucky tubes and wires.

Lauren flew in again for the day.

We were all so happy to have her, even for a short time today.

Emmie did well following surgery. The doctors have been able to minimize her ventilator settings and are hoping to extubate her tomorrow. She is still feisty and almost extubated herself today, but Liz grabbed her hand just in time. She is resting peacefully tonight.

Surgery

holding Emmie before her surgery

Emmie had her first surgery this morning. She was a trooper and was very feisty. The ventilation tube clearly irritates her and she was constantly trying to spit it out. This morning Liz and I arrived to visit Emmie at 0500. Emmie was taken to the OR at around 0730. This was a very difficult time for us. We kissed her goodbye and watched as they rolled her into the OR. I felt totally helpless. Throughout this ordeal, I am constantly reminded of sweet Lawson Finch and his experiences under similar circumstances. My heart breaks all over again for Angel, Hunter and their respective families. Fortunately, we have been blessed with a defect that is less serious and a medical team that is far more personable.

Emmie did well during the surgery and we were given multiple reports by Dr. Mello's NP Sherry. She started all reports off by first telling me she was fine. Those 3 words made the rest easier to deal with. Unfortunately, they were unable to correct the VSD and place a conduit because of the placement of her coronary arteries; therefore, they placed a shunt and will do the second portion of the operation between 4-6 months of age. We are disappointed about that but are hopeful that it will all work out for the best. She'll continue to be "blue" until the next surgery but the doctors assure us that she will grow and thrive. Tonight she is doing well - squirming and kicking around. That feisty spirit is what's going to carry her through these trials of her young life.

We are thankful for all of the thoughts, prayers, calls, and emails.

Emmie's heart

Thanks to Dr. Hans Mulder (Cardiologist that admitted her), and Dr. Barry Starr & Ms. Kelly Mclaughlin (our friends that have made this so much easier) for their illustration of Emmie's heart. Dr. Mulder drew this Friday night at around midnight so that we could understand what we were dealing with- took me back to the days of Netter and first year med school. Barry and Kelly added the illustrations and color so everyone could have a better idea of what Emmie's heart looks like.

Thanks again to Barry. He came to meadowcrest to be with us when she first got sick. He explained everything to us, called ahead to Ochsner so that everyone would know how special Emmie was, and then met us at Ochsner. I had to go ahead without Liz so Barry sat with me and helped me understand everything that Dr. Finger and Dr. Mulder was explaining. He then waited until Liz arrived to explain it all to her again. Without him, this ordeal would have been much worse. So Barry and Kelly, we are so thankful for your friendship and support.

Welcome to the world Emmie!

8 lbs 11 oz

Caroline Emerson Grace "Emmie" finally decided to make her debut on 3/5/10 at 12:20. She weighed in at 8 pounds, 11 ozs and was feisty and happy. A few hours later she started to turn blue and we realized that she has a congenital heart defect called pulmonary artery atresia which is a more severe variant of tetralogy of Fallot. She and Liz were transferred to Ochsner main campus where she's in the pediatric intensive care unit. We're very pleased with all her nurses and doctors here. She's on a ventilator now and is tentatively scheduled for surgery on Tuesday.

Right now, the blood in her right and left ventricles mix together and is only able to get to her lungs via her ductus arteriosis. The ductus arteriosis is what lets babies live inside the uterus without breathing and normally closes soon after birth when babies start to breath. So when her ductus started to close she wasn't able to get blood to her lungs and she turned blue. She's on a prostaglandin medicine right now to artificially keep it open until surgery but she has less oxygen than normal in her blood since the blood has to mix in her ventricles. The surgery will hopefully be able to close the hole in between her ventricles and a tube will connect up to where her pulmonary artery should be and she will then have normal oxygen levels. However, the tube won't last forever and will have to be replaced several times over the course of her childhood and into adulthood. We hope that she will be able to have a relatively normal life but she likely will have some limitations. If anything looks different than expected or doesn't go perfectly, she will have a shunt placed instead and that will do the same thing as the ductus. Then we'll wait until she's about 6 months and do the whole surgery, and until then she'll have low oxygen levels in her blood.

The surgery will take about 5 hours, and we'll update everyone after.

Liz is doing fine. We appreciate everyone's thoughts, prayers, messages, and emails. We have only lived in NOLA for 5 years but have been truly blessed with a fantastic circle of friends and second family. To our families and friends elsewhere, a part of you is with this precious child and she appreciates and knows you love her and are thinking about her. This is the most difficult thing Liz and I have ever been through, but we will get through this and Emmie will be running around and playing in a short time. We will look back and show her what a strong little girl she was.

Thanks to you all for your support and much love,

Amy, Liz, and Emmie