Meet Emmy

When Emmy was born, she was diagnosed with spinal dysgenesis, a rare congenital deformity that affects the development of the spine and spinal cord. Since moving to St. Albert from Calgary in 2016, Emmy has been closely monitored by her team at the Stollery. In 2019, when Emmy’s condition began to worsen, her team decided she needed a spinal decompression. Emmy’s surgery went well, and she went home to recover. Unfortunately, a few days after returning home, Emmy had popped one of the rods they placed during the surgery – effectively breaking her back – so back to the Stollery they went. During the repair surgery, Emmy’s team discovered her hips needed to be fully repaired for her to be able to keep the rods in place. Her recovery involved a full-body cast – with her Dr. PatchUp stuffie wearing a matching one. Finally, after two body cast changes, Emmy had a successful hip repair surgery. Thanks to donor-funded equipment such as state-of-the-art MRI, X-ray and ultrasound machines, her Stollery team could make precise decisions every step of the way.  

Today, Emmy is not only walking but twirling and performing, with her bright smile lighting up both stage and screen. Her family is grateful to her whole team at the Stollery – not only for changing Emmy’s quality of life, but also for supporting their family during Emmy’s time there.