VOLUME 36 | ISSUE 36
WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 5, 2024
Big surgery for a tiny baby
Colorado’s Caraveo opens up about her struggle with depression
Platteville parents pleased with daughter’s recovery from abdominal surgery BY BELEN WARD BWARD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
• Vestas to lay off 200 employees •27J Schools moves online-only Dec. 1
BY MONTE WHALEY MWHALEY@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
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BUSINESS
Congresswoman said it’s her responsibility to discuss mental health
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Expectant parents anticipate the 20-week ultrasound scan to get a better look at their baby, and that was the case for Amanda Sullivan and Roy Mendez of Platteville. The 20-week pregnancy scan, about halfway through the pregnancy, can allow parents to see their baby’s face, hands and legs. They might catch a glimpse of the baby sucking their thumb or their beating heart. But doctors use the scans to check on the baby’s health and pre-natal development, looking for things such as the growth of the brain, the bones or the kidneys. In Sullivan’s case, the scan of her unborn daughter Emilia showed a mismatch in her small intestine, one that would need to be corrected with surgery right after she was born. “I didn’t induce labor; we wanted to keep Emilia in my belly as long as we could and had more frequent doctor visits to ensure Emilia wasn’t under any stress,” Sullivan said. Emilia, now seven months old, was born just before New Year 2024 with a congenital condition called Jejunal Atresia. This rare but serious condition has meant several surgeries over the child’s young life and more can be expected. Children’s Hospital Fetal Care Center surgeon Dr. Jonathan HillsDunlap said there were two underlying issues with Emilia’s gastrointestinal system. “One was that the intestine wasn’t connected correctly, and the other was that her downstream intestine had formed an abnormal configuration that puts her at risk for lifethreatening problems in the future as a result of that configuration,” he said. SEE SURGERY, P11
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Emilia was born premature at 33 weeks on Dec. 28, weighing four pounds and 15 PHOTO BY AMANDA SULLIVAN ounces.
OBITUARIES: PAGE 5 | CLASSIFIEDS: PAGE 8 | LEGAL: PAGE 10
Yadira Caraveo said her public admission this week of her struggle with chronic depression is like helping passengers trying to survive an airliner in distress. “When an airplane is in trouble and the oxygen masks come down, you make sure your mask is on safely, then you want to help the passenger next to you get their mask on as well. This so everyone can survive,” the 43-yearold Caraveo said this week. “I just think it’s my responsibility as a public figure to come forward and talk about mental health.” Caraveo is finishing up her first term as Colorado’s representative in the newly minted 8th Congressional District. A Democrat, Caraveo is also a pediatrician and is the first Latina congressperson in Colorado history. But while she climbed to the heights of the medical profession and achieved national prominence in politics, Caraveo has been followed by a dark shadow of depression. “It is something I’ve dealt with since I was a teenager,” Caraveo said while in her Northglenn office. “I thought at first it was just being in the throes of puberty and adolescence. It wasn’t until SEE CARAVEO, P6
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