Wear a mask to protect kids like Emma

Emma Straub was born with many congenital defects the most severe being a condition which resulted in the top part of her esophagus and bottom part of her stomach not to be connected. She also had a narrowing of the major artery that carries blood to the body from the heart. Both defects needed emergent surgical intervention in the first days of her life in order for her to survive.

Emma is doing well, but she is extremely vulnerable to illnesses, which is why her family stresses the need for masking in public.

“Masking is important to us because of Emma’s severe tracheamalasia,” says he mother, Jennifer. “Because her trachea is weak and shaped differently, she suffers from recurring upper-respiratory infections, resulting in admittance to Geisinger Janet Weis Children’s hospital. Wearing a mask is imperative to keeping her healthy.”