Taylor Wilkinson and Chris Lewis, who are both EMS dispatchers in the Airdrie area, greeted their eight-pound baby girl, Denver on March 31. Denver was a born fighter; a stubborn one, but a fighter nonetheless.  

As Wilkinson lay with her baby girl on her chest, after an exhausting 19-hour labour that ended in a cesarean section, the beginning of an agonizing journey began. 

“Within two hours of her being delivered and us being in our room, she went completely purple on my chest and they rushed her to the NICU (Newborn Intensive Care Unit) and she hasn't left it since,” she said.  

Before Denver was born there was not even an inkling that she would experience any health problems as all the ultrasounds were clear. It wasn’t until Denver was admitted into the NICU that doctors advised her parents of what was potentially happening to her. 

“We've been advised that she has PPHN, which is persistent pulmonary hypertension as a newborn. All in all, it is high pressure in her heart.” 

PPHN is a breathing condition in which an infant’s lung vessels are not open wide enough which restricts blood flow and oxygen.  Wilkinson said that condition is common, though it is not usually seen in full-term infants. Last week, doctors told Taylor and Chris that there is no cure for Denver’s condition. There is only treatment. 

“It was pretty numbing [hearing it]. When they told us everything around us stood still. Their lips were moving, but I wasn't hearing anything.” 

Because both of baby Denver’s parents work within emergency services, the family is experiencing a view from the inside, one they never thought they would be a part of.

“We work for EMS; we transfer patients every day and we never really thought that we would be one of them and that we would see how babies go from one hospital to another hospital and how much of a process it is.” 

Wilkinson said that after she watched her daughter be intubated, she came to realize something that she always questioned as a dispatcher. 

“I sat there watching her being intubated because I didn't want to leave; when you send a truck to the NICU to go get a baby and you wonder why it takes hours for them to load that baby and go to the next location and it takes hours to finish up at that location and move elsewhere. Once you're on the inside, you understand.” 

Their work also means they are part of a family, the EMS work family, which has closed ranks around them. Airdronian Renee Groves-Miller, an EMS dispatcher who has worked with Denver’s dad, Chris, said that triumphs and sorrows are shared among co-workers and friends; and this particular sorrow has not been lost on them. 

“We deal with a lot of dark calls and we're there for everybody's emergency and when a baby comes into our EMS family, that's a celebration for us,” Groves-Miller said. “So when a baby is sick, that's just extra hard for us because that's supposed to be a new life. They’re our family so it’s hard.” 

Because Wilkinson and Lewis have a home in Okotoks and are now staying with baby Denver in Calgary, there is barely any time for either parent to think of the other things in life. Wilkinson spends her days by Denver’s side, sleeping in the hospital, while Lewis sleeps at the Ronald McDonald House. 

“In our little world at work, our team stepped up and just in our office, we raised about $2,500 for the family.” 

There is also a dedicated gofundme page for the family that Groves-Miller and another family friend, Brandy Groot set up. Thus far there have been close to six thousand dollars in donations. 

And while baby Denver has quickly outgrown the NICU, weighing in at 11 pounds, Wilkinson and Lewis will be making the trek to Edmonton to the Stollery Children's Hospital. 

Baby girl Denver has two families; her mom and dad and the EMS family she and her parents are apart of (Photo provided by Terry Wilkinson)Baby girl Denver has two families; her mom and dad and the EMS family she and her parents are a part of (Photo provided by Taylor Wilkinson)

“They would like to do a lung biopsy and a cardiac catheterization in hopes to find some answers or a direction of treatment. She will be undergoing both those procedures next week in Edmonton because that's where the biggest specialists in heart surgeons are in case anything goes sideways,” Wilkinson said.  

As Taylor speaks, coos and happy gurgling can be heard over the beeps of hospital machines. 

“Denver's writing her own story. Nobody can tell us what her life will be like. We just hope for a miracle.” 

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