Emma Jean Cirks was born February 8, 2014 at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. She was born with an unexpected and very rare congenital heart defect called Ebstein's Anomaly. Within a few hours of birth, Emma was airlifted to the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit at Children's National Medical Center in Washington D.C. where she would spend the first 5 1/2 months of life. While she was there, Emma had 4 surgeries total (2 open heart, 1 diaphragm plication, and a g-tube placement for feeding), 2 cardiac catheterizations, hundreds of x-rays, 2 PICC lines, and many other tests/procedures. On July 18, 2014, Emma was finally discharged for the first time! On September 13, 2014, Emma’s Entourage was on the way to run our first Race for Every Child. Unfortunately, Emma went into cardiac arrest in the car and was once again airlifted back to the CICU at Children's National where she spent another month. After another catheterization, an MRI, CT scans, and other tests, the cause of the arrest is still unknown. Due to the complexity of Emma’s heart condition and many complications from her first year, Emma also has chronic lung issues, developmental delays, and many other health issues. Between Walter Reed and Children’s National, she is followed by more than a dozen specialists.