Who's Emily? 

Emily is my co-worker’s oldest daughter (16) who has a rare condition that she's had since birth. Emily's heart is on the right side of her chest - and to complicate things more - her oxygen level has been hovering around 90% or less. So surgery was needed to address this condition and to give her a better quality of life going forward. The plan was to do this last year in 2020 - however the Pandemic hit and the country went into a full lock down - no work or travel unless it was deemed an essential worker or life threatening.

So Emily was isolated most of all of 2020 and confined to the house! And we certainly know the toll that it took on her and many others. Early this year James, Shelly and Emily discussed the matter with their doctors and decided that the surgery was worth the risk! This surgery would allow Emily to experience a better quality of life, and to have the chance to start participating in normal activities as a result of this procedure. Restoring the blood oxygen level that would allow Emily the ability to run, walk, swim and just be a kid without getting tired and experiencing labored breathing.

The Surgery 

The surgery was performed on the 10th of August - and things were good for about 12 hours before things started to take a turn. Wednesday she ended back in the operating room for about 5 hours were they discovered blood clots. They cleared them and hoped for the best. Thursday her liver and kidneys started to fail and was taken back to the operating room to try and find the cause. They discovered a few huge blood clots blocking her liver. They unblocked those and removed the Fontan from the original surgery. Today she is stable and recovering but will take some time. It’s very frustrating that her body rejected the very thing that was supposed to give her a better quality of life but she was put back to the way she was before the surgery.  Given the severity of the surgery and the complications that followed there after - Emily was able to come thru all of this and was released over the weekend to continue her recovery at home!  Where she'll have the support of her family and friends. 

As many of you know any surgery is costly and expensive with the deductibles and co-pays! And James and his family could use any help that we can provide them.  That being - this is a great opportunity for us as friends and co-workers to show our support for Emily! And James and Shelly in helping offset some of this burden. 

I & James 

James and I have worked together for almost 7 plus years and James has been a true friend and mentor to me! A Diamond in the rough and an ALL AROUND great person. Many of you probably have your own stories - But James and his family are truly ones that could use our support during this challenging period. Let's show Emily (James & Shelly) that we want to help lighten the burden with some of the expenses that come with a surgery like this! And hit the targeted goal of $15,000 - if not exceed..

Thank you - John MacDonald