On December 22nd, Josh and Tiffany Blackwood welcomed the birth of their daughter, Kezia Noelle. Shortly after birth, Kezia experienced complications from meconium aspiration, causing serious distress to her lungs. Due to the severity of her condition, she was airlifted from Community Hospital in Indiana to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Illinois. She was placed on a ventilator and later on ECMO, a heart-lung machine that temporarily took over circulation and oxygenation so her body could rest and heal.

After days of critical care in the Pediatric Cardiac ICU, countless prayers, and the tireless work of her incredible medical team, Kezia reached a major milestone and was removed from ECMO on December 30th. While she remains hospitalized with a ventilator as her body continues to recover, her heart and lungs are now supporting her on their own, and her vitals have remained stable. The family is deeply grateful for this progress and remain hopeful as she continues on the road to recovery.

Josh and Tiffany are parents to four children: Rayna, Sienna, Delilah, and Kezia. They are Hammond natives who attend St. John Bosco Catholic Church. Josh serves as a Firefighter and EMT with the Hammond Fire Department and also works for the University of Chicago. Josh is also a youth soccer coach, having coached for Bishop Noll High School, Morton High School, Hammond Soccer Club, and Highland Youth Soccer Club. During Kezia’s hospitalization, the family has been staying at the Ronald McDonald House near the hospital so they can remain close to her bedside.

As hospital bills have begun arriving, along with the ongoing costs of travel, meals, and future medical care, the financial burden is daunting. While insurance will help cover a portion of the expenses, there are significant out-of-pocket costs, as well as future needs such as follow-up care, therapy services, and continued monitoring that are not yet fully known.

We humbly ask for your prayers for Kezia’s continued recovery, for her medical team, and for strength for her family. If you are able and feel called to do so, any financial support would be a tremendous blessing and help relieve some of the burden during this difficult time. We are all grateful for the love, kindness, prayers, charity, and support that continue to surround our family.

This fundraiser is being organized by family on Josh and Tiffany’s behalf. Many have reached out wanting to support them during Kezia's hospitalization. This is simply one way we, as their family, friends, and community, can help shoulder some of the burden while they focus on Kezia and their children.

Thank you for standing with us and for being part of Kezia’s story. God bless.