Natalie – Status Update

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.