The Solomon Stories

Today has a very special meaning for us because it is the anniversary of Emma's heart surgery. Below is something I wrote awhile back but have never shared. I think it is fitting for today. It is long but it gives insight to Emma's beginning.

Emma’s Story

A friend of mine recently talked to me about how she shared her daughter’s story with a group of women at an American Heart Association luncheon. It got me thinking of how I have never written or completely shared Emma’s story. I wanted to take this time before Emma’s little sister arrives to write down my memory of her difficult start to life. Since this is a story that I am sharing with others, I will be leaving some private details out. These are details that I feel should be shared with Emma when she is at an appropriate age to understand and then she can determine over time what she wants others to know. She has an amazing story and should be proud of all that she has overcome.

When we found out we were pregnant with Emma we were surprised and thrilled all at once. We went through the steps of pregnancy as they came and shared all that we could with others. The minute we found out she was a girl we could not hold it in. We wanted the world to know that Emma Irene Solomon was on her way. When we went in for our 20 week ultrasound we were truly focused on gender and it never occurred to us to think of anything else. Our ultrasound doctor informed us that her heart was not developed completely but not to worry because sometimes it takes some extra time or the baby needs to be in a better position to see the heart completely. We left the appointment not worried but planned on coming in again at 24 weeks.

At 24 weeks we headed back to our ultrasound doctor to see Emma and her heart again. This time our doctor confirmed that there was a problem with the heart. From what he could see it appeared she had a VSD (ventricular septal defect). This means there is a hole between the right and left ventricle. If too much blood gets through it can go into the lungs and lead to heart failure. As parents to be this is news you do not want to hear. Our doctor continued to be positive with us and told us that the hole could close before or after birth but only time will tell. He also brought in a specialist for us to talk with in regards to her heart condition. Everyone kept telling us the same thing and that was we will continue to monitor her but we will know more once she is born and can get a better picture of the heart. As her parent’s we just prayed that everything would be ok and that this hole would fix itself. We continued to do what we could and lead a normal life and pregnancy. This was our baby and we thrilled to be meeting her soon.

December 19^th I was busy teaching when I noticed some consistent contractions. At the end of the school day I called my doctor and they told me to go home and try to rest. Things were just not consistent enough to be signs of true labor. That evening the contractions were coming on more consistently and slightly painful. We headed for the hospital thinking this is it. Well I guess we were wrong because after two hours of observation nothing was happening in the dilation department but the contraction were still consistent, which can go on for days. Once home things started becoming more painful. I could not sit down and just paced the house. Finally my water broke and I felt like I needed to push. We headed back into the hospital and it was go time.

Emma Irene Solomon was born on December 20^th, 2007 at 5:02 am. She weighed 5lbs. 15oz. and was 18.5 inches long. She was a true beauty with a full head of hair. We were instantly in love and how could you not be. She was perfect. We had all the excitement new parents have when their child comes into this world. Before we left the hospital we had our first cardiologist appointment scheduled but that was not weighing heavily on our minds. I truly thought everything was going to be ok.

We met with our cardiologist, Dr. Johnson, 7 days after she was born. At this point they were able to get a great ultrasound and EKG of her heart to determine what path she would need. At 7 days old we were informed our little girl would need open-heart surgery to fix her VSD and it was recommended it be done at 6 months of age. Once the news was explained all I did was cry and I could not stop crying. So much goes through your mind and one of them is death. I was extremely fearful that this little girl I was just blessed with was going to be taken away from me. I also could not stop thinking about what I did that caused this. Nothing could be said to me to make me feel that everything was going to ok or that I did anything to cause this. It is a very common heart defect is what I kept hearing. That did not matter to me. What mattered to me was that I did not want anything bad to happen to my little baby.

Once the news was given and we digested the information, we were determined to find the best surgeon and would go to whatever lengths we had to, to do what we could for Emma. All signs pointed to Dr. Charles Frasier Jr. at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston. Our local cardiologist had sent many patients to him in the past, and he is a highly regarded surgeon. Dr. Frasier was our man.

Emma’s original date for surgery was to take place June 6^th, 2008, giving her time to put on weight before the surgery. At first everything seemed like that would not be a problem. Even though Emma had difficulty breastfeeding she did well taking a bottle. Emma’s bottle feeding was fine for the first month and half of her life. By 2 months of age Emma was not eating. It was very difficult for her to eat because to her it was like an adult running a marathon and trying to eat. Her heart did not have the strength to keep up with a normal feeding. Dr. Johnson decided we needed to be admitted to Dell Children’s Hospital to have a feeding tube placed in Emma’s nose and run down to her stomach. She would then receive feedings every three hours through the tube. This was all foreign to us but the nurses at Dell were amazing at teaching us what to do. Also, while at Dell Children’s Hospital, they determined that Emma needed a blood transfusion.

Having a child with a feeding tube is not easy. Our days were scheduled around a pump. I was pumping to make her food and then Emma would receive her feeding and they would last about thirty minutes. After each feeding the bag needed to be cleaned out, which was not a fun task. We struggled through it and would do it again if we needed. The hardest part was being responsible for changing out the feeding tube. You had to measure from her nose to ear and then her ear to stomach to determine how far down you needed to place the tube. Sometimes the tube would go in easily through her nose but there were times when it was challenging. Poor Emma had to deal with us sticking things in her and then taping the tube to her check so it would not fall out. Emma was a trooper and thankfully to young to truly realize what was going on. Thankfully the tube feedings helped her put on weight for awhile. Eventually her body could not handle it any longer. She was aspirating everything we were giving her. She was no longer gaining weight, which is what we needed to have the surgery be as successful as possible. Our doctor decided that it was time for us to go back to Dell for a few days and have a different feeding tube place in Emma. This new tube would still go through her nose but it would go past the stomach and into the intestines. This would prevent her from aspirating. This also meant her she would be hooked up to the pump for 18-20 hours a day. There was barely a break from the machine but it was the only way the body can handle having food put directly into the intestines. Our doctor also decided at this point that Emma could not wait to have surgery in June and needed to get in as soon as possible.

This began our trips to Houston. Our first trip was to meet with Dr. Frasier to figure out the game plan. I was nervous when meeting him because he was going to be handling my baby and hopefully saving her life. I was still scared that she might not come out of this alive. It is very hard thinking that and I am sure others would think that I should not think that way but it is reality.

When we met Dr. Frasier I all of a sudden was put at ease. It was like God was telling me that everything was going to ok and that Emma was going to come out of this surgery a stronger person. I was not scared anymore. I was still nervous and crying like crazy but I knew my little baby was going to be alright. After meeting him we headed back home for a few days. We then went back to Houston and were planning on having the surgery on a Friday. Well an emergency transplant patient came in and that bumped us to the following Monday, April 7^th, 2008.

The day came quickly and it was very hard passing our daughter over. She was out of our care and in the hands of God and Dr. Frasier and all the medical staff. My mind was at ease because I knew that later on that day she was going to have the hole in her heart fixed. It was a nerve racking day but we made it through the morning. I was away pumping when I got a call from Andy to come back upstairs. I was scared at this point that something had gone wrong. When I entered the private family room the nurse was informing us that the doctor was finishing up and everything went well and he would meet with us shortly. That was music to my ears. Emma had survived open-heart surgery and our prayers had been answered!

When we met with Dr. Frasier he said everything went great. Her heart had more problems then we originally thought but that can happen since an ultrasound can only show so much. He felt that she would recover just fine and be able to live a normal life. He was a God sent angel to us. The ability to do what he did and still does is beyond amazement. There is not a day that goes by that we are not thankful for him and his team for saving our precious baby.

Later on that day we were finally able to go up to ICU and see Emma. It was tough seeing her hooked up to machines with a large bandaged cut down her chest. This was going to be the hard part. It is not uncommon for people to do well in surgery but then have something go wrong in recovery. Thankfully the nurses explained everything to us, especially what all the machines were doing and telling them. It really put us at ease.

Emma spent three days in ICU and then got to move down to the step down unit. We were thrilled because this was the last stop before leaving for home. We were in the step down unit for about 7 days. During this time, Emma just continued to get stronger. We did have to put the feeding tube back in even though we tried our hardest to not need it. Emma was just not ready to eat on her own. This was something we could easily accept because what mattered was her heart was fixed.

We were thrilled the day we got to leave. It was just so surreal driving away and thinking about all that we had just been through. We knew Emma’s tough road was not over but the hardest part was behind us. A new chapter for our family was beginning and the chapters just keep getting better.

Can you believe it, our little lady is 7 months old! Before I know it I will be planning her first birthday party. Time is flying even faster with the second baby. Abby is just full of life and showing off her personality. She is a very happy baby that loves to smile, laugh, and talk. Her cheeks are extremely kissable and we love to call her Abby-licious. We just can't get enough of her love.

Abigail at 7 months:

-Wearing 6-9 month clothes.

-Loves the bottle and purees. So far the only purees she does not like are the green ones (peas and green beans).

-Trying to work on drinking from a sippy cup. She is good at holding it and bringing it to her mouth. Just need to figure out how to drink from it. She does love to bite it, though.

-Loves to make raspberries when you feed her. I sometimes feel like I need to wear a poncho to protect myself from the food spray.

-Anytime she is pulled up to a table, she loves to drum on it. Her and Emma will take turns drumming on the table. It is precious.

-When it comes to music, she loves to hear it, shake and eat her maracas, and drum on whatever.

-Is putting whatever she can in her mouth. She does not care what it is, but she does care if you take it away.

-Abby is a talker and singer. Her current words are dada, mama, and yaya, and just normal cooing sounds.

-Loves to pull on hair and faces, especially my hair and Andy's ears. She is getting good at pinching, too. Better watch out she might get you!

-Enjoys watching other kids play and gets very excited when kids give her attention. She loves to always have attention and will let you know if you are not paying attention to her.

-Loves to be tickled!

-Abby currently goes to physical therapy once a week to help with some stiffness in her neck. She is not a fan of the therapy or the recommended tummy time.

-She is taking two naps a day and goes to bed around 7 each night. Typically wakes up between 6 and 7.

-Loves her toes! She is just so excited about them.

-I have decided she is a dress girl. She just looks so good in them!

-Starting to have enough hair on the top of her head to wear a bow. So exciting!!

Here are some pictures of her on her 7 month birthday. I played with a few different filters on my camera. Enjoy all the cuteness!