5 Years Later: The McGarvey family’s journey through the pandemic
Before welcoming their first child, Megan and Evan McGarvey had far more to consider than just the baby’s gender.
During the initial wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and its heightened health and safety restrictions in early May, Megan gave birth to a son — Emmett Michael McGarvey — whose first moments in the world were just as unique as they were memorable.
The Chicora couple turned an imperfect situation into a positive when they found themselves alone in their section of the maternity unit back on May 1, 2020.
To celebrate the new addition, they lifted up Emmett in front of the hospital room’s windows like a scene from Disney’s “The Lion King” as grandparents, aunts and uncles huddled atop a parking garage to catch a glimpse of the family’s newest member.
“If we did not have Emmett during that time, I honestly think the pandemic would have been a lot harder on us,” Megan said. “In all of that, he made it better. It will always be a great memory to have.”
While there was understandable frustration at first, Megan and Evan said the experience ended up being one that can be looked back upon fondly.
“He was the light of it all,” Evan said. “Despite the circumstances, they’re such great memories that we’re going to cherish forever.”
Nearly five years after his unforgettable birth during what was most likely a once-in-a-lifetime event, Emmett McGarvey is thriving and so is the family that went to extraordinary lengths for his arrival.
Just a few years into his young life, Emmett became a big brother to two new siblings — a 2-year-old sister named Luella, and a brother named Grant, who will turn 1 on July 12.
While hearkening back to the raw emotion of that time, the family decided to embrace the way they introduced Emmett as a tradition.
“We ended up doing that with all three of our kids,” Megan said. “We’ve done that every time, and that’s just kind of like our thing now.”
As Emmett continues to grow, so too does the McGarvey’s appreciation for the moments that mattered most during a period of uncertainty for their family and the country.
“A positive experience to take away is that we had a lot of opportunity to just focus on becoming new parents, learning how to handle those experiences and just spending a lot of time intimately as a family,” Evan said. “That was a great experience in that regard.”
There were plenty of lessons along the way, too.
The McGarvey family was not only adjusting to the challenges of new parenthood but also ensuring they took the necessary health and safety precautions for their newborn.
“We just took it one day at a time, and I think that’s what everybody else was doing,” Evan said. “Things obviously changed throughout the course of that, and we abided by what was in place. That’s all you could do. Coming out of it, I think everybody’s in a lot better place.”
As they look back a half decade later, Megan and Evan say the experience has made for an interesting story for all three of their children when they’re old enough to understand.
“Absolutely, we’ll them about it,” Megan said. “That’s part of their lives and there’s nothing to hide about it.”
Evan also noted that while 2020 was far from an ideal year, explaining those trying times could be a valuable lesson moving forward.
“It’s a good learning experience and a teachable moment for them as well,” he said. “You just take challenges head on and you deal with them the best that you can.”
