There Is No Place Like Home

After a blur of endless days and nights, Riley is home. She now weighs 6 hefty pounds. Her medicine is more stable but her heart remains very sick. She will continue to be closely monitored. Emily is immensely relieved to finally (after 2 weeks) be in the same location as both of her girls. She has only slept about 5 hours in the last 3 days (she is convinced she saw Riley twiddle her thumbs!), and now she can actually lay down in a real bed.

Little Riley has a long road ahead, but she has proven over and over to beat the odds. Thank you for your prayers, love and concern.

Heart Ache

Hi everyone-Lisa here, Emily's oober amazing sister. For those who have not heard about Riley, I thought I would post an update:

Emily and the girls are in Texas so that my mom and I can help with all things TWIN. Monday night Riley was admitted to Texas Children's Hospital. Tests revealed that she has Dilated Cardiomyopathy. The most simple explanation is that the left ventrical of her heart is damaged and this causes her heart not to work properly. This damage is permanent. Right now the doctors are trying to determine if this damage is genetic or was caused by a virus. She is considered in heart failure. All that being said, she is doing extremely well. The doctors have said they are amazed at how well she is doing. Most babies with this condition are not eating or breathing on their own. Riley is doing both.
So far, Riley is responding well to the treatment. If she continues to do well, the prognosis is a normal life but she won't be able to participate in any sports. If she does not respond well to the treatment, the only option is a heart transplant. Because she has done well thus far, doctors are very optimistic.
Riley has been in the NICU and will stay there until Monday. Then she will be transferred to the cardiac floor. If she continues to do well there, she should be there about a week.
I will keep you posted of any changes. Please keep Riley in your prayers.