Natalie is doing quite well! She impressed all the nurses and doctors with how fast she is recovering and how she is already nursing. The biggest goal of the recovery was to prove that she could pass stool through the colostomy, and we’re proud to say she pooped! Now the next big goal is to remove her catheter and see if she can urinate properly. She remains on ampicillin to prevent urinary tract infections, and will hold off on any other antibiotics for now as other studies recently have proved to cause more problems than prevent.
If you’re playing along at home, the official term for her condition is cloacal anomaly. This is a condition that occurs exclusively in girls and happens about 1 in 20,000 live births. It’s a broad term and her exact condition is hard to find studies on, but we have found documentation on cases similar to Natalie’s.
Please keep your prayers coming, and thanks for the many that have already been made. We hope to bring her home by Thursday!