Kailey Penner

Princesses & Superheros

Gymnastics

1st time sitting up in PICU

Playing on our Bed

Play Room!

Surgery Prep

'I finally lost my 1st tooth'

Emma's Story of Bravery

Meet Emma!

“She’s funny, determined and one-of-a-kind” 

At 8 years of age, Emma is the kind of kid you can’t help but notice! With a radiant smile, Emma is both beautiful and full of endless amounts of energy.  She’s well known for her sense of humor and loves making others laugh with her funny faces and jokes. Emma isn’t just funny, she’s incredibly strong-willed and determined. Once she sets her mind on something, nothing can stop her! Emma is always up for a challenge. She’s brave and bold and isn’t afraid to be herself.  Emma inspires everyone she meets to be as daring and full of life as she is. 

Emma’s LOVES to play! Her ultimate and favorite thing is playing with her older sister Carly and younger sister Zoey and creating her real life “setups.”  She also loves swimming, lego, Moana, singing into her microphone, trying out her new gymnastic moves and playing with cats. When Emma grows up she wants to be a nurse (thanks to all her AMAZING nursing friends she made in the hospital) a teacher (she has always LOVED her teachers) and a mom. 

As Christmas 2023 drew near, Emma was battling what her family understood was just a case of a common flu. Soon, her breathing changed unexpectedly, and her mother, sensing something wasn’t right, rushed her to the hospital. There, they received devastating news; Emma’s body was going into septic shock caused by an invasive Group A strep infection and pneumonia.  Doctors and nurses moved quickly, as she was intubated and ultimately put on life support and admitted into the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.  

December 20, 2023 marked the beginning of Emma’s brave and courageous 146 day journey at the Children’s hospital.

As Emma’s heart rate continued to drop, blood pressure medications were administered to try to stabilize her heart. Her kidneys were shutting down and Emma was put on continuous dialysis.  As her body fought the invasive infection, blood flow to her extremities became a huge concern. She was at risk of losing both her hands and her legs. 

Day by day, she fought through pain and setbacks, showing her family, friends and care team her incredible strength. Against all odds, Emma began to recover, and her determination inspired everyone around her.

Due to significant loss of blood flow to her lower extremities, Emma required extensive surgery.  On March 6, 2024 Emma underwent a high risk transtibial (below knee) amputation of her right leg and a partial (toes) on her left foot. Following the surgery, Emma persevered through daily physiotherapy and occupational therapy to regain enough strength to go home.

On May 14th, Emma was discharged from the hospital to begin her at-home journey to recovery. Emma received her first prosthetic on October 7th. She continues to battle and work hard in her physiotherapy and is determined to regain improved movement, walk with less effort and possibly run again.

Emma currently wears her prosthetic leg between 60-80% of the day. She uses her running prosthetic as her daily driver and also has a back up leg she can change into if she wants to go swimming. She has gone through a lot of trial and error finding the leg that fits her best. A HUGE shout out to Rehabilitation Centre for Children and the Prosthetic and Orthotic department. They are INCREDIBLE! We have so much love for RCC and all they do to support and help so many children with disabilities with their mobility devices.

We will always be incredibly grateful for all the genuine and special care we received with our 146 day hospital stay. We had a team of Doctors, nurses and specialists who worked tirelessly to provide Emma with the care she needed to heal both physically, emotionally and mentally. The play room at the Children's hospital was one of Emma's favorite places to be. The Child Life Specialists find SO many ways to bring fun, joy and entertainment to all kids dealing with hard and unimaginable health conditions. From PICU, CK3(surgical ward), the Library, Occupational therapists and assistants, Physiotherapy, the therapy dog, music therapy, Child Life, the play room, the Family room, we accessed it all and we will forever be grateful!💕🙌🫶

Checking out a prosthetic!

VR Goggles for the W!

Music Therapy

First time standing!

CK3

Sisterly love!