Whats a Big Brother To Do?
By honoring his little sister, this brother hopes he’s helping others too Anthony Jacobsmeyer was five-and-a-half years old when his mom and dad left for Las Vegas with his six-week-old sister. “The doctors told us ‘she needs to have surgery or she won’t survive,'” explains mom Natalie Jacobsmeyer. “But they also weren’t sure if she’d survive even with the surgery.” Jennifer, who was born with a very large hole in the center of her heart, was in the hospital for nearly three months. Half the time, she was on life support. Several days before her open-heart surgery, she went into respiratory failure. “Conditions for the surgery weren’t optimal. Jennifer had pneumonia and her weight was too low,” explains Natalie. “The doctors wanted her to weigh 12 pounds, but she only made it to seven.” Natalie and Robert Jacobsmeyer watched over their baby daughter every minute of the day, only leaving Jennifer’s bedside from midnight to 7 a.m. Anthony, his 4-year-old sister, Amanda, and younger broth
