Emmy Stanley

Welcome to our CaringBridge site. We've created it to keep friends and family updated. We appreciate your support and words of hope and encouragement during this time when it matters most.

After several years of decreasing energy and shortness of breath, Emmy was diagnosed with hypertrophic cardio myopathy (HCM), a hereditary heart disease.  She elected to undergo the prescribed septal myectomy, a corrective open heart surgery.  On Tuesday morning, April 19th, the surgical team at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago performed the surgery.  However after several hours in recovery, a bleeding complication required a quick return to the operating room down the hall.

In surgery, bleeding was compounded by a rapid drop in blood pressure and then a rupture on the heart's left ventricle, a rare occurrence.  A fairly common heart surgery now became a life and death, moment by moment struggle.  Doctors were able to repair the bleeding that night, but Emmy's chest incision remained open should more surgery need to be done.  Doctors waited to make sure that bleeding was stopping and that Emmy was stabilizing.  On Thursday morning, the doctors once again brought Emmy to OR to close her chest incision.

After 3 days more, Emmy began waking up and has remained in ICU to regain her strength.  Blood clots from Tuesday night's emergency surgery had caused mini-strokes in several areas of the brain.  So recovery will take on a different form and will be much longer than she had planned.  Her goal now is to get off of the ventilator altogether and to start rehabilitation therapy so she can soon return home.

Her husband Steve, their children and family stand by her.  They rely on their family and friends, who stand with her.  We give God thanks for His gifts of love and mercy.  We thank our many friends for their prayers, best wishes and many kindnesses.