Hi, I'm Ember! I was born early, like stupid early, 15 weeks early! I was only 1lb 11ozs and born "code blue" (not breathing) and went on to pass away 13 times. I had passed away 3 times before I had a name yet, but that's where Ember came from, "the little flame that refused to burn out"! I spent over 8 months in the NICU before I was able to come home, with a trach and feeding tube, though. I've had over 30 procedures and surgeries, but now I'm just a normal 18-year-old. Dad would say I'm somewhat normal. He is ALWAYS picking on me!

I enjoy horses a lot. Probably too much, honestly. I even write books on them. They might be published someday, but probably not, because I end up hating my own stories. Some of my favorite bands are Linkin Park and Shinedown, as well as musicians like Jack Johnson. I am currently in college doing my general courses, but I am hoping to go to Full Sail University and do music. I also have a dog! Her name is Gypsy, and she's a 2-year-old boxer. She can be dumb sometimes, but I love her. I used to have another dog, also a boxer, but he passed away a few years ago. His name was Gunner, and he was my first dog. I have a nephew, and his name is Riley.

Back in August 2023, my granddad fell out in his front yard. He got a small scrape on his elbow, and my grandmom brought him inside and cleaned it. Two days later, he was being flown by helicopter across the Chesapeake Bay to the hospital. It turns out, he had gotten Flesh-Eating Bacteria in his arm. Along the way, on his flight over, his kidneys failed, and they had to intubate him and put him on life support. We drove over there, and through the next four months, he had 9 surgeries on that arm trying to stop the spread of the infection. They ended up taking his arm first at the elbow, then gradually up to his shoulder.

When things were looking up, we found out that he had leukemia. Soon after, we got him back to the Eastern Shore for rehab, but that didn't last long. He wasn't getting what he needed. We brought him home, knowing he would be more comfortable at home. He had weekly visits to the hospital for chemotherapy, and people came by a lot to help with physical therapy. In February of 2024, he passed away. The last cognitive thing he did was smile at me. In the middle of all this, my grandmom was having seizures, and then we also lost my dog, Gunner (only 7), on New Year's Eve of 2023, to an unexpected bleeding tumor. We were crushed, so Dad went and got Gypsy.