1 Year Ago Today

A year ago today Emmeline stopped breathing and had to be put in the hospital. It started one of the hardest year of our lives. It would change things forever. We have all been through a lot this year, especially Em. I thought i would share some pictures of her adventures in the last year.


This picture is actually of emmeline on oct 8th 08. this was right before the failed choanal atresia repair. we thought this would fix everything. silly us.




This is right after the above mentioned surgery. looks OK right? that is an IV in her head. the blue tube is blowing O2 in her face.




I thought she looked like Buddha in this picture. notice how she is still grey/blue around the lips, nose and eyes. it seemed so pink at the time b/c she was still better then before.




lucky for us my sister Becca lent us a motion sensor monitor for Em. two days post surgery the alarm went off twice. after going to the Dr and some intervention from God we were sent to the hospital. we spent 11 hours at watauga medical before being sent to Baptist. Josh stayed with her the first night and she was pretty good.




she needed a bit of blow by O2 at times.



The next night i woke up with the morning nurses bagging her with O2. After a tone of Dr, nurses, and many other medical professionals tried to stabilize her they whisked her off to the PICU. when i saw her next she looked like this. i wasn't quite prepared.






we spent the next 5 weeks in the hospital having 5 surgeries.




I know this sounds dramatic but this picture means a lot to me b/c this is the last picture of "whole" emmeline. this was right before her feeding tube was put in. she had had other surgeries before that but none that showed exterior scars. none that anyone would know about unless she told them. this was different, very different.




post g-tube surgery. she was so cuddly looking. she hadn't woken up yet. note all her hair.




Luckily rise and bennie were able to take isabella trick-or-treating for us since we were in the hospital. isabella got to come see us. em had her g-tube installed on halloween. this was pretty soon after she woke up.




I couldn't resist dressing Em up on halloween. the nurses loved it. pretty cute huh?




You can see most of Em's everyday medical equipment in this picture. she looks like she is in prison.




This is Isabella on the rooftop playground. we spent alot of time up there. i can't remember why she is upset.





eventually we got to go home. but not without our portable hospital room. i was so scared i kept O2 on her all day the first few days.



then i relaxed a bit b/c we figured out when she would stop breathing.





we had her blessing right when we got home b/c we weren't sure we would be able to stay home. we were.










Isabella getting ready for the nutcracker.




Christmas Pictures










"All those pictures made me need some aunt Katie cuddles."


"I'm not that tired."




"are you kidding me?"




Baldy Pictures. the Dr thinks her hair fell out b/c of malnutrition in the hospital b/c it only fell out on the top.










playing video games with daddy.



"These pretzels are making me thirsty!?"



Therapy with Appy.



stretching with Appy. no, really, they are working.



Hair starting to come back in.




had to get a picture in the little sister shirt.




Her first Hearing aid.




Spring Day 2009.





Spring Day Bunny.




We finally got her tree planted right before her 1st birthday. It's a plum tree.




Her NC combo birthday party with Appy.






the dread in her eyes is so sad.




First airplane ride. she did great.





Playing dressup with isabella.





Her Texas first birthday. she did manage to get icing on her cheek but not in her mouth. she was pleased.




She really liked the fire. i had to grab her hand so she wouldn't burn herself. (you're welcome Katie).




Random cuteness.


"and then i'll squeeze you, like this!"











inside out lip. i know, it's weird.




Sophie was the first hing to make her laugh.




1st pumpkin farm. she did like it dispite the face.




bath time. she loves to scrunch her face.


she also loves to lick at the water sprayer like a puppy. it's really cute.





I know this was a ton of pictures but this is just a tiny glimpse of her last year. for some reason the fact that it has been a year since the hospital seems more significant then her 1st birthday. i hope you enjoyed looking. hopefully this next year will not be quite as eventful. just nice and relaxed....i can dream can't i?