My Ministry

I decided last-minute that I would participate in Show Us Your Life from Kelly's Korner.

If you are not familiar with Show Us Your Life, here's a quick explaination. Each week on Kelly's Korner blog, she invites readers to add a link to their own blog to show others different aspects of their lives. This week the topic is Show Us Your Ministry. 

If you are visiting from Kelly's Korner, welcome to Emma Kate's Heart Journey! My daughter, Emma Kate was born in August of 2008 with a congenital heart defect called Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome. This means that the left side of her heart is severely underdeveloped and does not function.  Basically, she has half of a heart. She had two open heart surgeries before six months of age. She has also had one other surgery to correct a complication. She is a living, breathing, thriving miracle! I am so thrilled to share her story with others and give others hope!

We found out at my 20 week ultrasound (or thereabouts) that her heart was not normal and that she would need surgery to survive when she was born. Often times, when families are given this diagnosis for their unborn child, they are given the option to terminate the pregnancy, or to choose "comfort care," which means to let the baby live for as long as they would without surgery. These babies don't usually live longer than a few days to a week. 

I am so thankful that we were not offered these options and that we gave our daughter a chance at life! I hope Emma Kate's story can encourage any family going through this type of situation. Congenital Heart Defects are common, about 1 in every 100 children will be born with a heart defect of some kind. If you are going through something like this, please feel free to contact me!