For those who don’t know me, my name is Lauren & I have known and been best friends with Mandy since 7th grade, I have also been a Cardiac ICU nurse for almost 13 years, which has come in handy in this situation :)

Mandy has been by my side through all trials and tribulations since middle school and I have no doubt in my mind that our friendship is life-long.

For starters- we are asking for positive prayers for full healing for Emma as she navigates a possible health diagnosis.

Emma was having a normal day at school when she felt her heart start to race and she passed out. In an abundance of caution, Mandy took her to the ER- after an EKG & some labs, the ER physician did not like what he saw and referred her urgently to a pediatric cardiologist in Winchester. Thankfully, they were seen the next day. The cardiologist ran some test and did an ultrasound of Emma’s heart in the office. He saw that one of her valves was not pumping blood the correct way which he thought was related to pulmonary hypertension, or high blood pressure in the artery that carries blood to your lungs. We again were referred urgently to UVA pediatric cardiology and they got Emma an appointment for the next day! (Amazing in itself)

When we met with her team at UVA they did another echocardiogram, EKG, a walking stress test & a genetic workup. The cardiologist is determined to find out how she got pulmonary hypertension. The testing there showed an enlarged right heart and pulmonary hypertension however she did great on her walking stress test!

Her heart valve looks great structurally, it is just leaking because the right side of her heart is working so hard to push against the resistance from the high pressure in her pulmonary artery.

Thursday we will head back to UVA & she will have a right heart catheterization, this will measure the exact pressures in each chamber of her heart to determine the next steps, he will be working closely with Emma on how’s she feeling in the coming weeks. He’s also having her stay the night to watch her oxygen levels when she sleeps, and he will do a CT scan of her chest to rule out blood clots and look at her lungs. We also met with a genetic counselor and we should have those results in 2-3 weeks to see if there is a genetic component to this which he believes there is.

We are trusting God completely as Emma walks through these health challenges, believing that He is her healer and source of strength. We pray that every procedure and test is guided by His hand, bringing clarity, peace, and positive outcomes. We are trusting her nurses and doctors and have had full faith in each provider we have met with thus far. With faith over fear, we place Emma in God’s care, confident that He is working all things together for her healing and well-being. Any amount of donation is very appreciated and will go directly to Mandy & Jeff as they navigate all the appointments, travel and over night stays in Charlottesville to get Emma the care she needs. Thank you so much!