A couple in Fort Worth eagerly awaits the end of this week. That's when they may be able to take their baby girl home from the hospital.
Emery Ramirez was born the day after Christmas 2017, a gift to her parents Timothy and Jeanette and big brothers Timothy, Junior, and Ezekiel. As expected, though, Emery was born with a heart defect.
The Ramirezes knew heart surgery would come soon after their daughter's birth. It's why the U.S. Navy allowed Timothy Ramirez, Sr., to come home early from his assignment in Bahrain.
Jeannette Ramirez tells NBC 5 doctors induced labor on Christmas night, and Emery arrived on Tuesday, Dec. 26 weighing six pounds, 13 ounces.
"She has been through so much already," Jeanette said a week later. "Thank God she is doing better now."
Jeanette shared pictures showing her baby girl wrapped in pink with a bow in her hair that was almost bigger than head. A second pictured showed Emery's big brothers, Timothy, Junior, and Ezekiel, standing guard at her crib. They wore t-shirts that said "Security. Little Sister Protection Squad."
"My husband and I have been taking turns sleeping at the hospital so our beautiful daughter Emery won't be alone while the other is at home with our other two boys. It's a long stressful couple of weeks ahead of us but my daughter is a fighter," Jeanette wrote.
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Emery proved it again Friday, Jan. 5. Ten days after she was born, the baby girl went through open heart surgery. A second procedure followed three days later.
"She is doing good," Jeanette said. And there's plenty of reason to be optimistic about what's next. "They said hopefully we get to go home by the end of the week."
