During our community’s fire evacuation…

Our little girl has made incredible progress. Tomorrow she gets to be off her CPAP all day. This girl is incredibly strong. In the last month, a lot has happened. Between being in the PICU for 2 days shy of a month, to having a house fire and now that we can taste the freedom of being discharged from the hospital, we are unable to return home due to the evacuation that many of our friends and family are also dealing with. Regardless, we thank God for the incredible progress that has been made as well as the safety of our family, friends and animals as well. Today we were able to return home to grab our animals and it’s the first time we have been in our house in over a month. It was bittersweet. We miss our home and most importantly, we miss being together as a family as we should be.

Through this experience, I have learned to really enjoy and celebrate every single victory. We have seen so many families around us lose their children while being in the PICU. Not only that, but we have talked to families who have been through a hell that I couldn’t imagine. We met a beautiful family with a similar story. They lost their first born son at 2 months old due to trisomy 18. They then had another baby boy who was unfortunately diagnosed with the same disorder. We got to meet this lovely boy who is now 10 years old. His parents have been through a lot, they have experienced many horrors. Through it all, they were a happy family. They also were 7 hours away from their home and were unable to return due to evacuation. They were an inspiration for Rachel and I. Anyways, if you are going through something difficult, try to shift your perspective and focus on what’s good in your life. Celebrate all that has gone well.

To all those who have lost their house/property, I’m so sorry for your loss. Nobody deserves to go through that. I’m praying for you all. If there is anything Rachel and I can do for you, we would love to help in any way possible. I mean it. Just reach out and we will do what we can or connect you with someone who can help.

Hey everyone. As many know, we have been in the Stollery since Easter Sunday with our little girl. She was admitted into the ICU for breathing problems. She was put on a ventilator as there were no other options do to her nose and skull as they were unable to place any mask on her that would seal properly. She caught a virus and it hit her a little hard as she was still recovering from medication complications that affected her lungs. On Monday, her heart stopped twice. CPR was performed the first time and they had to insert an emergency line into the bone of her leg. Once they got her back, they spent nearly 3 hours attempting to insert a central line into her collar bone into her heart. They finally got it and her heart stopped again. The doctor began telling us “your daughter is going to die, do you want her to die while doing CPR, or while holding her”. This struck a nerve with me as it should with ANY parent. I got up and told everyone to get out of the room. An overwhelming spirit of peace came over my wife and I and we just laid hands on our daughter commanding her to live. She immediately came back to us and within 10 minutes she was back to sucking on her soother (hasn’t done this since being sick) and she was grabbing our fingers and just back to herself (besides the sedation). She is now dealing with both the breathing issues as well as a slow and erratic heart beat. We suspect this is medication related as she is on a lot of different medications to manage pain, fluids, fluid retention and sedation. We are continuing to pray and believe that she will recover and do better than ever before! Our girl is a fighter, there is no doubt about it. The video is of her RIGHT after the second cardiac arrest. Our God is SO much bigger than this.

On top of all of this, we received a call today from our Telus home security that our smoke alarm was going off. The fire department was dispatched and Sydney rushed over as well. The house was smokey upon arrival and the fire department found a heat lamp for our tortoise was the culprit. Miraculously, absolutely no damage was done to the house. Besides the heavy smell of smoke throughout the house, everything is ok. Franklin, our tortoise, is staying at the vet overnight to be monitored as he was surrounded by heavy smoke. We are so beyond thankful that all our animals are ok as well as our house. Thank you to all the amazing first responders who helped out with this today as well as my family, friends and neighbors. It made dealing with something like this a lot easier. It was incredibly stressful not knowing the state our house was in or if our animals were alright while being away from the house with our daughter.

We got results from testing over the last few days! Amadea has continued to shock the medical world again and again and this is no exception. Her initial diagnosis of anencephaly has been tossed. Her MRI shows that absolutely nothing lines up with that. She has a complete brain (formed slightly differently), but all the parts are there. There actually isn’t a name for her condition for those who are wondering, so her doctor has just called it “Amadea”. She is unique and one of a kind. We should be back home shortly as Amadea has responded well to her seizure and dystonia medications. We will continue to learn from her every single day. We will continue to praise God for our precious miracle. God is always good.

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.”

James 1:17

Little update on our girl. We are taking her back to the Stollery. She was awake for a whopping 38 hours straight despite all our efforts. She has an MRI on Friday and more testing will be done tomorrow as well. I wouldn’t normally ever post anything like this as I honestly don’t like my life or my families life being displayed publicly, but I know there are thousands of people out there following our girls journey. Her story deserves to be shared as she is an inspiration for so many, including her parents.

Oh Amadea, how you have changed the lives of so many. You came into our lives 2 months ago. We have been through so much in such a short time with you, but you are worth it all and then some. You have shown every single person in the medical field that a textbook isn’t the be all end all. As your favourite doctor often says “Amadea is writing her own textbook and we just need to follow her lead”. The changes we have seen in you is nothing short of a miracle. Although this last month has been the hardest month that your mom and I have ever faced before, we are still so incredibly thankful to have spent this time with you. You have pushed through what would be difficult for any newborn. Fighting through RSV and now aspiration pneumonia. I never wanted to have to perform CPR on any one of my kids and I hope to never have to again, but I’m thankful I knew what to do in such a challenging situation. You are so strong my girl. Mom and dad love you so much.

To the staff at the Stollery Hospital- thank you. Every single doctor and nurse who has been involved in our family has been amazing. You have treated my family with the highest level of love and care. Rachel and I had lost hope in doctors when Amadea was born. You guys showed us just how incredible doctors and nurses really can be. Doctor Turnbull, you have been an absolute blessing. I truly did not think it was possible for a doctor like you to exist. Someone who cares so much for Amadea, that you go out of your way, day or night, to ensure she is doing well. Checking in frequently. Meeting us in emergency to ensure Amadea is treated quickly and properly by the emergency team. The way you advocate for Amadea is amazing. Regardless of what any other doctor or textbook says, you always advocate for what is the absolute best for Amadea. There are so many others who I would love to thank individually. We have met so many nurses here at the Stollery and every single one of them has been nothing short of amazing.

To our family- thank you for everything you guys have done for us. Again, there are so many of you from both Rachel’s side and my side that has stepped up and gone above and beyond in helping ensure our animals, our house and most importantly, our daughter Adeline has been well taken care of and loved. Being able to lean on each and every one of you at this time has been such a blessing. You all have dropped everything just to ensure our family is taken care of. We love you guys so much!

To the hundreds of people who have supported us- there are so many people out there from multiple churches in our community, churches from a lot of other communities, as well as people from all across Canada who have helped us in many ways. From the financial support, the home cooked meals, and the thousands of people praying for our family and Amadea. From the bottom of my heart, thank you all so much. I would love to do something for each and every one of you. Just know that we do not take this lightly. The way we have been blessed by each of you is incredible.

To KKs Garage- Frankie, you have been a blessing to work for in this short period of time. I am so thankful that you have been so understanding and patient with myself and my family. Thank you to the rest of my new small family at KKs garage. You guys are all amazing!

I could go on and on and I feel like I already have. Thank you everyone. We love you all!

Amadea Oriella Dempster. Born October 13 at 3:21am. Amadea -God’s beloved.

Oriella -full of life.

We firmly believe in the meaning of your name. We are so beyond blessed to be able to call you our daughter. You are in God’s hands. We place all our trust in him. Thank you everyone for your love, support and prayers.