Emilia’s Story
Emilia was born on
January 20th, 2020 in Guelph, ON with a Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia (CDH) and multiple Congenital Heart Defects (CHDs).
She was rushed to the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto where she had surgery at four days old to repair the hernia.
Emilia was a happy little girl but she still required a nasogastric (NG) tube to eat.
She breathed too fast due to her heart defects and would choke on her milk. She went to the hospital for heart failure due to silent aspiration. She struggled to gain weight for a few months but eventually started growing.
Her second surgery for her
gastric tube allowed her to thrive.
Emilia began eating food and was able to drink without choking. She did so well that her doctors encouraged her to wean from her feeding tube after only three months.
Most of Emilia’s heart defects resolved on their own and she was finally living a normal life.
Emilia enjoyed blueberries, walks, ice cream, french fries, sand, flowers, dancing, Moana, and giving kisses. She even managed to get off her feeding tube for the last month and a half of her life.
This little girl was brave until the very end.
Emilia had a build-up of scar tissue from her previous abdominal surgeries that caused her to go into the hospital one last time for a bowel obstruction. Although the surgery went well, Emilia developed an infection at the hospital and died of sepsis on June 4th, 2021.
Don’t let our daughter’s story end this way.
This little girl matters. She is inspiring, strong, brave, and beautiful. Help us to honour her legacy by funding the hospital that gave us the best 16 months of our lives.
