Natalie – Status Update

March 29, 2026

We spoke with Natalie's Dr. this morning and he is pleased with the progress she is making. They are planning on 'bronching' her again today. Basically it is taking advantage of the fact she is already intubated and putting a tube down into her lungs to suction out the secretions. The hope is to get her lungs as clear as possible so that when she is extubated, she will not have as many secretions to fight as she works her way towards breathing independently.

Natalie will remain sedated at least through the bronching. They will then begin weaning the sedation. I'm not sure if we will be able to interact with her or not today.

March 28, 2026

When we arrived today, they were just about to flip Natalie from her stomach to her back. She had stabilized quite a bit and with a goal of weaning her off of sedation, getting her back to her back was a necessary step. The flip went well and she was able to stay on her back. She has remained sedated for the day. Our expectation is that they will begin bringing her back either tomorrow or Monday. Personally, I am hoping the sedation is removed tomorrow and they are able to work towards a Monday extubation.

It was a really boring day for Natalie. Time in her room is VERY quiet. (Not words you will generally hear me say about spending time with my darling daughter).

March 27, 2026

The morning did not start well. At 3:00 in the morning, my phone woke me up. It was Natalie. She was stressed and frustrated. I was struggling to understand her, but the gist I perceived was that she didn't feel her treatment was working. Sadly all I could do was encourage her to go along with the nurse and know she was in the right place.

When we arrived to the hospital, I was a bit disappointed that while Joshua's oxygen input was down, Natalie's was still up at 90%. We spent time with Natalie and her doctor, and there was definite concern that we weren't seeing the progress for Natalie. We went through a round of cough assist and while we were able to get a lot of secretions, it was clear there were many more in her lungs. The decision was made to continue working to attack the secretions aggressively. Through various efforts a lot was brought up, but not nearly enough came out.

The next step for Natalie's care was a bronchostomy. This is a procedure where they put a tube down into the lungs and use suction to pull out the secretions. We were warned it was 50/50 whether she would come through without being intubated. In the end the lungs were cleared, but she did require intubation. When we returned to her room, she was in rough shape, struggling to get the oxygen she needed. Someone had to bag her to keep her oxygen up. Machines were beeping. It was an intense and scary envrionment. As I type this, I still hear the steady beeping. I stepped away from typing this to comfort my daughter. Sue was on one side of her. I took the other side. We played some of her favorite music and spoke with her as we worked to calm her while the doctors and nurses were looking for the right combination of medication to calm her so she could keep her oxygen up while allowing her heart to stop racing.

The day finished with Natalie sleeping comfortably on her stomach. While it took a while and determining the right balance of medications to get her there, it made for a calm and peaceful end to a very stressful day.

March 26, 2026

The morning started with another good report from Natalie's Dr. She had a good night and her oxygen levels were stable. The plan for the day is to begin reducing the amount of oxygen she is receiving and to continue to monitor her progress. She started the morning with a drop to receiving 80% oxygen and has responded well.

Throughout the day, Natalie's oxygen didn't improve. Sue and I were deputized and given the responsibility of driving the 'cough assist' regimine which was scheduled for every 2 hours. We had great success getting secretions out of Natalie. With Sue running the machine and cheering, me holding the mask on tight and Natalie's nurse, Kat, taking responsibility for Natalie's mask and suctioning, we had a good team that pulled a lot out of Natalie.

March 25, 2026

We received a call from Natalie's Dr. this morning. She had a good evening and because of the good evening, a decision was made to remove Natalie's tube. When asked when the answer was 'now'. Their desire was to have as much time as possible with the day shift to support Natalie in her transition.

When Sue and I made it into the hospital, it warmed our soul to see our daughter without her mask. The respiratory therapist was in to give her a session with her cough assist. This gave us the chance to get an update and the update was very favorable. She was on a modest amount of oxygen coming through a high flow nasal cannula. The respiratory therapist was very pleased with her progress and said that she was doing well. The best thing was seeing the smile on Natalie's face and hearing her voice, much smaller than normal, but it was there and it was beautiful.

For the first time since Natalie went to the hospital, Sue and I had a chance to have a meal with friends. Our original plans were to go out for pizza. Because of Joshua's struggles earlier in the day, we didn't feel comfortable going further than the cafeteria. After a quick meal we brought the conversation up to the ICU waiting room. At around 7:00, Kyle came out to get us. Natalie was in a bit of distress. As best as I can explain, some mucus came loose in her lungs and it was causing her to struggle to breathe. By the time we made it to her room, Natalie's oxygen had returned, but she was very stressed. We were able to help calm her and ease her breathing. That is when I decided I would spend the night in the hospital with her. I am so thankful that I did. It was a blessing to be able to be with her and Joshua and check in on them throughout the night.

Our prayer for the day is that the adjustments to Natalie's treatment plan without the chest tube will prove sufficient to allow Natalie to successfully transition towards independent breathing.

March 24, 2026

Natalie remains intubated today. She is currently receiving 30% oxygen with 3 liters of flow and a PEEP of 5.0.

She is breathing with ventilator support, which allows her respiratory muscles to stay active and engaged while ensuring she receives the oxygen she needs. This balance is important for her strength and stability.

The care team is encouraged by her progress. If her breathing tests continue to trend positively, the plan is to attempt extubation tomorrow.

We continue to pray, wait, and trust the Lord with each step forward.