Meet Kid Captain Nataleigh Mochal
Nataleigh Mochal’s first breath came courtesy of the incredible neonatal team at University of Iowa Health Care Stead Family Children’s Hospital. Weighing just 1 pound, 5 ounces – about the weight of a loaf of bread – the baby girl came into the world months early, setting the stage for an incredible journey that helped shape Nataleigh into the resilient 9-year-old she is today.
Nataleigh’s mother, Kelsie, had planned to give birth at her local hospital and had little warning that her daughter would be born early. During a routine checkup, prenatal tests showed her pregnancy was at risk – as was her own life. She was taken by ambulance to Stead Family Children’s Hospital, where Nataleigh was born that same day.
“I was scared. I had no idea what would happen,” Kelsie recalls, noting the initial goal was to be on bed rest to deal with her eclampsia in hopes she could extend her 25-week pregnancy a bit longer, but Nataleigh was born just hours later. “It all happened really fast.”
Nataleigh’s first four months
Kelsie was unsure if her daughter would survive, hearing that an infection was targeting her baby girl in the womb. It was this same infection that caused Nataleigh to be born with congenital pneumonia.
“The way they explained it to me, my body was kind of rejecting the pregnancy and my organs were shutting down,” she says. “It was like, if they don’t get her now, we’re both going to be lost.”
Because Nataleigh was not breathing when she was born, the care team immediately resuscitated her and intubated her to establish an airway. They also addressed bilateral brain bleeds. It was an entire day before Kelsie saw her daughter.
“It’s all kind of a blur,” Kelsie says. “They brought me a picture and a footprint. I had to be in bed for 24 hours before I could even go see her. They wanted to make sure there was not going to be any other issues that came up in that time.”
At 2 weeks old, Nataleigh underwent surgery to repair a patent ductus arteriosus, an opening between two blood vessels leading from the heart. Surgical intervention was needed after a series of shots failed to repair the opening.
“She was an itty-bitty baby,” Kelsie recalls. “She wasn’t even 2 pounds yet. It was very scary.”
She remained on oxygen, eventually developing bronchopulmonary dysplasia, a chronic lung condition. Nataleigh also has asthma and regularly uses an inhaler. In total, Nataleigh spent 128 days in the hospital before being discharged with a heart monitor and feeding tube. At the time, she weighed about as much as a newborn at just 8 pounds.
Then at 18 months old, her tonsils and adenoids were removed as well as subglottic cysts in her trachea after she experienced periods where she couldn’t breathe. Surgeons also widened her airway, hoping to help the young girl catch her breath.
“After that, she really didn’t have any issues with breathing,” Kelsie says.
Halloween health scare
On Halloween when Nataleigh was 7, knowing she would be outdoors, her parents gave Nataleigh an antihistamine to help with her allergies. She started itching her elbow while trick-or-treating, however, and before long, her whole arm broke out in a rash.
“Within 20 minutes, it was all over her body,” Kelsie recalls. “It looked like burns or blisters.”
Nataleigh was taken to their local emergency room, where she was diagnosed with hives and given an antihistamine. But the next day, within two hours of being at school, the nurse called to say Nataleigh had boils all over her body.
“We dealt with it for that day,” Kelsie says, as they could not get in for a doctor’s appointment until the next day, trying an oatmeal bath among other remedies. “Her fingers and everything were so swollen, she was just crying all day. Nothing was helping. I felt so helpless as a mom.”
Kelsie ended up rushing Nataleigh to a different emergency room, where she again was diagnosed with hives and her parents were told there was nothing that could be done.
She finally called the triage nurse at Stead Family Children’s Hospital, who recommended keeping the appointment with Nataleigh’s primary care doctor. The pediatrician ordered blood work and called later with results to tell Kelsie and her husband, Jacob, to immediately take Nataleigh to the children’s hospital, after tests showed she was at risk for major blood clots.
Nataleigh was diagnosed with severe urticaria, or chronic hives, thought to be related to an autoimmune condition.
“Her immune system just couldn’t keep up,” Kelsie says, noting Nataleigh had been ill leading up to the outbreak. “It was fighting all the infections at once, so it started flaring up in her skin.”
Thankfully, she hasn’t experienced the condition since and is seen at Stead Family Children’s Hospital as needed.
“Nataleigh was a fighter and a joy to take care of after her discharge from the NICU. I was glad to help care for her as she outgrew her need for oxygen and other medications from the NICU,” says Katherine Ruppenkamp, ARNP, one of Nataleigh’s providers. “It was fun to see her bloom and develop as she learned new tasks. She had such a great personality. I was glad to be a resource for this family.”
Now 9 and in fourth grade, the Oelwein girl loves school, is active in dance, softball, and volleyball, and has attended theater camp.
“She is very determined. She’s a spitfire,” Kelsie says. “She will not give up on something until she has completed whatever she set out to do.”
Her family knows that Nataleigh’s determined spirit was made possible thanks to the care she has received over the years at Stead Family Children’s Hospital.
“If something were to happen, Iowa City is first on my list. The doctors and nurses explain everything. "They take what the parent of the child thinks into consideration,” Kelsie says. “I have not had one bad experience from start to finish.”
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