Something's not right.

After Ema was born, we spent two normal, sleepless days in the hospital. Ema got to meet several family members and new friends, including a skeptical older brother, and members of a very prestigious high school debate team. Everyone immediately noticed what mommy and daddy knew all along, that this was a special beautiful baby girl.

Finally, on Saturday evening, we were ready to take our baby girl home and start our new life as a family of four. We got home around 7:30pm. Almost right away, we noticed something was not quite right. Ema had been very fussy, and she was not wanting to eat. You might be thinking that a fussy newborn is perfectly normal. I don't mean to boast, but our babies are wonderful. They don't really get fussy (this can be verified by any number of family members). After a few hours of trying to get Ema to eat, we also noticed that she was cold. Becky took her temperature and decided to call the hospital. Like a good husband, I was asleep.

Shortly after midnight, we were in the ER at Newton Medical Center. Dr. Jantz was informed about Ema's condition and got to the hospital before we did. As Ema was getting checked, Dr. Jantz and the ER nurse heard a murmur. This basically means they heard something that did not sound like a normal heart beating. Dr. Jantz quickly had us walking to the special care nursery. He had an assumption about what was going on, and he acted on it (assumption is my word. Dr. Jantz is a skilled professional and probably knew exactly what was going on). Within a very short amount of time, Ema was hooked up to an IV that was administering a drug. This drug was opening up Ema's aorta, which is the large artery supplying the body with oxygenated blood. I am convinced that this was the second action of the night that saved Ema's life. For those who weren't counting, the first was when Becky realized something wasn't right and called the hospital.

After a few tests in the special care nursery and other life saving medications, the neonatal transportation unit from Wesley Medical Center was contacted and heading to Newton. By 5:30am we were sitting in the waiting room of the NICU at Wesley Medical Center. This was just the start of a very long day.