The Danze Family: A Year of Miracles

Saturday, August 16, 2008

A Year of Miracles

It's hard to believe that Emily turned 1 year old on Monday! Looking back over this crazy year, there are so many of God's blessings for which to be thankful. At the time we were in robot mode, trying not to think about little things like how Eli was unemployed 2 weeks before Emily was born, or how our car broke down and we had to buy a new one the day she came home from the hospital. We probably wouldn't have survived the crisis without the support and prayers from everyone, and the extreme dedication of the doctors, nurses, and therapists. Emily is certainly the bravest little girl who even today is quite the fighter. She is truly an inspiration to us all! Here's a list of just a few things she's gone through in her short life:
-82 days of hospitalization
-heart surgery to repair the hole in her heart (after 5 rounds of intense medication which failed)
-100s of apneas and bradycardias (when her heart rate would slow drastically and she would stop breathing, many times turning blue in our helpless arms)
-living hooked up to an IV, a heart rate monitor, an oxygen monitor, an arterial line, a feeding tube, a respirator to a CPAP to nasal cannula, in a temperature regulated glass box
-severe acid reflux which burned a hole in her esophagus
-phototherapy treatment for jaundice
-respiratory distress syndrome (she had synagis shots to avoid rsv)
-Spastic diplegia (she continues to have occupational therapy each week and is improving!!!)
-eczema, allergies, staff infections, etc.

We are happy to report that Emily is just about as healthy as can be and can almost CRAWL! She still needs surgery on her arm in the next year, but is currently taking no oral medications and is all in all a typical adorable baby. Talk about a miracle:)

No bigger than a dollar bill

On her birthday we had a little dinner for her with some family (Aunt Lauren, Aunt Teresa, Uncle Kyle, cousin Aidan). She got to try cake for the first time and loved it!