Eighteen-month-old Emery McVicker has not been home in almost a year. For the past nine months, she's been at Ambassador Health of Omaha because of the right side of her heart failing.
Emery was born with a hole in her diaphragm, a condition known as congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH), and has had to undergo several medical procedures since she was born.
According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, CDH happens in one out of every 2,500 births and often results in respiratory issues such as underdeveloped lungs.
For nearly a year, Emery's mom, Rebeka, has been staying at the Ronald McDonald House in Omaha while Emery has been in the hospital. Dad Paxton has been on duty in the Army.
The McVickers hope they can be reunited soon, as Emery's health is getting better and Paxton is finishing his deployment. The goal is to have everyone back home in Sterling, a town about 50 miles southeast of Lincoln, next month.
"She's stable," Rebeka McVickers said. "She's off of her ventilator for up to eight hours a day. So she's breathing on her own, she's doing her own thing. But once that eight hours is up, you know, they put her back on the ventilator, kind of give her a break."
Emery has an upcoming doctor's appointment to have her heart checked and make sure everything is OK. From there, she will be able to be off the ventilator for up to 12 hours a day and hopefully go home.
Rebeka said the long-term goal is to have Emery off the ventilator entirely by the time she starts kindergarten, possibly even sooner.
"She's just like a regular kid, you know, just with some medical issues," she said. "But you know, other than that, she's thriving, you know, she's sassy, really sassy. She's opinionated. But she's so happy too."
Ronald McDonald House spokesperson Hunter Samuels said that despite what Rebeka and her family have gone through, she always stays positive.
"Rebeka is just such a sweetheart," Samuels said. "She is going through this, you know, her husband is deployed elsewhere, and she's taking care of her daughter who, you know, has a lot of medical needs. She always seems to have a smile on her face. Like, no matter how difficult it is, she stays positive. And it's just great to see that. It's not easy to do that."
He said he's happy for the McVickers that they will be able to go home soon.
"That's a long time to be away from home and away from family. So it's very exciting for them," he said.
Rebeka said she wants to spread awareness about CDH and let families know that it does happen.
Despite it all, she said Emery is a force to be reckoned with.
"She acts like she's 5 or 6," Rebeka said. "She seems more grown than possible. Just a big personality. I didn't think that that was possible for a 1-year-old."