Joshua – Status Update

March 29, 2026

We spoke with Joshua's Dr. this morning and he was pleased with Joshua's progress. It is a little confusing he does well during the days, but at night his oxygen need drives him back up to 100%. Then in the morning he looks good and they begin to wean him down again. The plan is to continue to monitor his progress and to continue to reduce the amount of oxygen he is receiving as deemed possible. I hope one of these evenings, the daytime weaning will hold through the night.

In addition to the work they are doing on his lungs, they are working on other aspects of his care where different organs may be impeding on his lungs. For example, last night a tube was inserted into Joshua's stomach to help relieve the gasses being built up. With all the high pressure breathing he is doing, some of that air is 'infalating' his lungs, so I look at the tube as a high-tech burp.

What is it like spending time in the ICU? For much of the time, you are hoping for boredom followed by quiet signs of progress, such as having your child require less oxygen or a reduction of the sedation so you can interact with your child. That was the desire for today. Then, when we switched from Natalie's room to Joshua's room around 4:00 today, we arrived just in time for his respiratory therapy. The positive excitement is when you hear a big slimy clump of mucus get coughed into the throat and then suctioned out. Sadly, this is also when we get the excitement in the other direction, which is what happened today. After the shaking vest was finished, JOshua began to struggle with his breathing. He was clearly distressed and his oxygen levels were dropping. Everyone came in and did their job and about 15-20 minutes later, Joshua was stable again. Those brief moments of 'excitement' are terrifying. You see how fragile your child is and you are reminded of how much you are trusting the medical staff to do their job well. Thankfully, we have had a great team of medical professionals taking care of Joshua and we have been able to trust them in those moments.

Tomorrow I plan on going to work. It will be really hard knowing I won't be able to step into the middle of those moments and grab Joshua's hand and speak words of encouragement to him. Beyond trusting the medical staff, I will be trusting God to be with Joshua in those moments and to give him strength and peace.