David and Meaghan Palmer
Back to Little Fighters FeaturesFebruary 18, 2018
Hometown: Erieville, NYMy pregnancy was mostly uneventful, and this being my first child, my husband and I were very excited to meet our daughter Emma. After 14 hours of labor, I required an emergency C-section, bringing my beautiful and seemingly healthy full-term daughter into the world at Crouse Hospital. After 14 hours of life, Emma started turning blue. She was rushed to the Baker NICU, where it was determined she had pulmonary stenosis, a congenital heart defect.
My husband and I were scared, shocked and overwhelmed with the news that our beautiful girl needed a life-saving procedure that may or may not work. The NICU staff was incredible. They loved my daughter as if she were one of their own and were there to pick my husband and I up when we began to fall apart. They even put blankets over the monitors to help us focus on our beautiful girl instead of her numbers. They taught me how to care for my daughter, which as a first-time mother, really helped ease my nerves. They advocated and fought for my family and communicated with doctors and explained procedures.
It was so hard leaving my girl every night, but before we left her, the nurse for the night reassured me they would love her and care for her while we were apart. We also were able to call any hour of the night to check on how she was doing. The day the news came of her discharge, the doctors were just as excited about her going home as we were. I credit the entire staff with saving my daughter’s life. These people are the kindest, most caring people on earth. I can honestly say I love them and owe them the world!