Below you can find a message from former
Greeley Estates member, Dallas regarding the death of his infant daughter, Emma. Dallas
had left the band to focus on being a father.
Message hey guys. if you haven't heard, my wife elizabeth and i lost both our identical twin little girls over the past few months.
this has been the hardest thing i've ever gone through.
here's the story of what happened:
(taken from Emma's funeral brochure):
Emma Grace Smith came into the world on July 8th, 2007 after an incredible ordeal in her mother Elizabeth's womb. In March, Elizabeth and Dallas were informed that she was pregnant with twins and they found out through subsequent ultrasounds Emma Grace and her sister Madeline Elizabeth were identical.
On Easter weekend, Elizabeth found out the girls were suffering from a rare condition called Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome and needed emergency laser surgery to try and save their lives. She was rushed to Hollywood, California and on Good Friday morning underwent the life-threatening surgery. Unfortunately Madeline did not survive, but Emma Grace continued to grow and develop over the next few months.
Elizabeth was confined to strict bed rest, and the next few months would be a rollercoaster ride of emotions as her water broke prematurely and the risks increased. For the next few months, Elizabeth was monitored 24/7 at Banner Good Samaritan Hospital in Phoenix until July 7th, when she went into labor. By the next morning, Emma Grace came into the world, but she was only 31 weeks along (2 months premature).
For the next three and a half weeks, Emma struggled to survive in the intensive care unit and while she showed great signs of improvement, God chose to take her home to Himself in the early evening hours on August 2, 2007.
She was preceded in death by her twin sister, Madeline Elizabeth, and another sibling through miscarriage, and leaves behind her mommy and daddy, Dallas and Elizabeth Smith, and a host of extended family members, all who share in the grief, pain, and celebration of her home going.
here's my own account of what happened in Emma's last days:
Our little precious Emma Grace was taken home by the Lord yesterday around 5pm. She's had a rough past week, and she acquired a new systemic infection that got into her bloodstream and caused septic shock and massive hypotension.
Her blood pressure plummetted and doctors tried everything they could to fix the situation but nothing seemed to work. Without blood pressure, her kidneys were unable to filter out the extra fluid they were giving her to increase her pressure and wasn't able to get rid of the potassium that they usually do. The fluid had nowhere to go but into her skin and into open spaces in her abdomen. Emma fought long and bravely but in the end just couldn't fight anymore. Her potassium was just too high and her heart slowly stopped beating.
Elizabeth and I were with her at the end. We knew Emma was going to die when the doctors asked if we wanted to hold her. We've wanted to hold her for so long, but not that way. Not then.
Elizabeth held her first. I was able to hold my little girl for the first and last time as she squeezed Elizabeth's finger as if to say "It's ok mom, Jesus and Madeline need me now." We sang hymns..."Jesus Loves Me" and "It Is Well With My Soul" to her until her heart stopped beating and they turned off the respirator.
Emma suffered more in three weeks of life than most people experience in a lifetime. She didn't deserve that. She's not suffering anymore and she's with her twin sister Madeline now. Our main comfort is that we WILL see her again when this life ends and our little girls are going to be waiting for us there and to show us around heaven. I can't wait to see Emma again, this time in a body that doesn't break down, in a world that isn't full of death and sorrow and suffering and to meet little Madeline, who gave her life so her twin could live on a little longer to see her mom and dad.
Please pray for me and Elizabeth as we're disillusioned, heartbroken, and searching for answers we're not likely to find in this lifetime.
We love you Emma Grace and Madeline Elizabeth. We always will.
I've posted a memorial video of Emma on youtube and I'd love for you to check it out and see what an awesome little girl she was in life. You can see it in the replies below.
as heartbroken as we are, we know God had a purpose for her way-too-short life and we'd like to let as many people know as possible about her story and to see her video. please spread the word about her to other people who knew us and the link to the video, if you don't mind.
please keep us in your prayers and remember little Emma.
thanks.
-dallas-
Submitted by greeleye More... 
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