UPDATE: August 21, 2025
MEMPHIS, TN — After nearly three months of living inside hospital walls, three-year-old Berkley Dearman has taken her first steps into freedom, walking out of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital on her own for the first time in 87 days.
Her mother, Katie Dearman, shared the emotional update, calling it nothing short of a miracle.
“Hard fought hallelujah!!!!!! My mama heart is full. So incredibly full,” Katie Dearman wrote. “Third times a charm!!!! After being inpatient for 87 days, Berkley is headed outpatient!!!!!!!!!!!! This is the first night all 5 of us will sleep in the same place since MAY!!!!!!”
The moment marked more than just a medical milestone—it was a long-awaited reunion for the Dearman family.
A Walking Miracle | “The one only God can perform”
Katie says the fact Berkley walked out of the hospital unassisted is proof of God’s power and the prayers of thousands who have followed their story.
“A MIRACLE. The one only God can perform. The one where communities fell to their knees and He answered. Ohhh how we are so thankful for our prayer warriors. Don’t let up now!” she wrote.
Doctors have diagnosed Berkley with multiple life-threatening conditions, each of which is overwhelming on its own. Her journey has included:
- HLH (Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis)
- Pulmonary hemorrhage
- Septic shock from MRSA in her bloodstream and lungs (requiring airlift to St. Jude)
- Removal of 36 inches of her small intestine, 10 inches of colon, and appendix
- Two episodes of DRESS (a severe drug reaction)
Dearman reflected, “MOST will NOT experience ONE of these in a lifetime. Yet God showed us mercy with a very critically ill child, brought communities together in deep prayer, and now we are seeing a true walking miracle. He gave this tiny three year old’s body enough to fight…and fight she did. God is so good.”
The Joy of Family | “I’m awestruck at His mercy and grace”
For the Dearmans, the celebration is about more than just leaving the hospital. It’s about being together again.
“I can’t imagine the ‘freeing’ feeling she must have felt knowing she wasn’t going to sleep in a hospital bed for the first time in 3 months or the sun beaming down on her little face,” Dearman shared. “Probably thinking I want to go back inside because this heat is horrible—we have not missed this!” she joked.
Katie admitted she was hesitant to believe it was really happening after two previous times when Berkley’s health rapidly declined just as they were preparing to leave. But this time, she says, it was different.
“So in this moment I’m awestruck at His mercy and grace. God did not have to bring Berkley through this, and I still would have praised Him. But He saved her, and soon she will be old enough to start sharing her little miracle with everyone she comes across.”
The Road Ahead | “My mama heart is so happy about this”
Though the family has moved to a St. Jude outpatient apartment, Berkley still requires daily treatments and therapy. She will return to the hospital twice a day for HLH infusions, attend occupational and physical therapy 4–5 times a week, and continue taking injections at the apartment.
She also has one remaining surgery ahead, which doctors hope to complete before she leaves Memphis.
Still, there is joy in the small victories. Berkley even started Pre-K 3 this week at St. Jude’s Family Commons. After months of isolation, she now has the chance to learn and play with five or six other children.
“My mama heart is so happy about this. I have anxiously waited for the day Berkley could play with friends again. I can’t imagine how tough that has been on her.”
A Hard-Fought Hallelujah | “We’re starting to see the light”
As the family enjoys their first nights together again, Katie says their story is far from over—but filled with hope.
“We’re starting to see the light!! And it’s BRIGHT!! Now turn up your music and praise with me for a hard fought hallelujah!!!!!!” she wrote.
Katie closed her update with a line of worship that has carried her through the darkest days:
“I’ll bring my storm-tossed, torn-sail, story-to-tell hallelujah… God, You’ve been patient. God, You’ve been gracious. Faithful, whatever I’m feeling or facing. I’ll bring my hard-fought, heartfelt, it-is-well hallelujah.”
Update: Just hours from leaving the hospital, 3-year-old Berkley Dearman rushed back to ICU
UPDATE: August 10, 2025
MEMPHIS, TN – Sunday morning, three-year-old Berkley Dearman was on the brink of a milestone. Doctors expected she could finally leave the hospital for outpatient care by Monday afternoon or Tuesday. But in a heartbreaking turn, only hours later, Berkley’s condition took a sharp and frightening decline, forcing her back into the ICU.
“At 10 a.m. in rounds, we were heading outpatient,” her mother, Katie Dearman, shared in an emotional update. “Now at 12:00 p.m., we have spiked a 104 fever and [she’s] throwing up.”
The Sudden Shift
The change came quickly. Satuday, Katie noticed Berkley’s appetite was down and her usual spark dimmed, but she thought it might just be the anticipation of her dad’s arrival. “I know now that she was starting to feel bad,” Katie wrote. “Steven is here — I’m so glad he is helping us face another valley.”
Berkley had recently reduced one of her HLH medications from twice a day to once a day, but Katie says this partial wean should not have caused such a strong reaction.
For now, the family is adjusting to yet another unexpected delay, holding on to faith in the midst of disappointment. “This wasn’t our plan, but God’s plan is always better. So we wait,” Katie said, quoting Psalm 37:7:
“Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him.”
She also leaned on Romans 8:28:
“In all things God works for the good of those who love Him.”
Back to the ICU
By late afternoon, Berkley’s condition had worsened significantly. At 6:30 p.m., a Rapid Response team rushed her to the ICU after her blood pressure plummeted to 70/30 despite emergency interventions including norepinephrine, steroids, and large amounts of fluids.
“She still has a 104 fever, vomiting,” Katie reported. “Even after everything, her BP is still low.”
Doctors suspect sepsis caused by an infection. Broad-spectrum antibiotics have been started, and cultures are running to identify the source.
Her HLH doctor confirmed that the medication wean should not have triggered this episode, but as a precaution, Berkley’s dosing is returning to twice a day. Doctors are also checking her gut, as her ostomy output has dropped significantly.
“All the tests are being run… as soon as we know what’s going on I will update,” Katie wrote. “Just please keep praying. Don’t grow weary. God’s got this. He has us. We have faith God will bring her through this.”
The Weight of Disappointment
This is the second time Berkley was told she’d be leaving the hospital — and the second time plans have been shattered.
Last night, Katie showed her a picture of the playground outside their temporary apartment, a promise of fresh air and her favorite activity: swinging.
“She just wants to swing sooo bad. It’s her favorite thing in the world,” Katie said. “She was disappointed the last time, and I know she will be so disappointed again. Please pray for her little heart and that God gives her a peace like no other.”
When Berkley saw her parents packing this afternoon, she asked,
“Are we going to the apartment?”
Faith in the Flames
Katie likened these relentless challenges to the trials faced by Job in Scripture: “Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?” (Job 2:10)
“In her own little way, I think Berkley might feel like Job too,” Katie reflected. “She has endured more pain than most adults, but she keeps on. God’s Word says the end of Job’s story was better than the beginning (Job 42:12), and I’m believing the same for her.”
For now, the Dearman family is clinging to hope, prayer, and the belief that God’s timing is perfect — even when the road feels impossibly hard.
“Please pray God heals her and gives us answers,” Katie wrote. “In His timing, I pray these things.”
UPDATE: August 6, 2025
Update: A healing breakthrough and a mother’s honest faith in the flames
MEMPHIS, TN — After nearly 10 weeks in the hospital battling a rare and dangerous immune condition, three-year-old Berkley Dearman continues to defy the odds — organ by organ, moment by moment — and now, with a smile that says it all.
“She had an ultrasound today, and for the first time ever, all her organs showed no more inflammation,” wrote her mother, Katie Dearman, in a moving update shared on social media Monday night. “I cried literal tears of joy and thanked Jesus out loud.”
It’s a breakthrough worth celebrating. Just last week, Berkley’s colon was still showing signs of colitis. Now, it’s completely healed — visible proof, Katie says, of divine restoration.
“I love to think about it in the way of God healing her organs one by one, in the same detail He made us.”
A Setback, But Not a Defeat
Despite the joy, the Dearman family is once again navigating a curve in Berkley’s long road to recovery.
For the past two nights, Berkley’s blood sugar levels dropped dangerously low, falling to 40 and 50 overnight — even while receiving nutrition through TPN. The endocrine team at St. Jude is now adjusting her treatment plan and running lab work to identify the cause.
It’s a frustrating pause after days of encouraging progress, where Berkley had finally begun walking without support and enjoying four hours a day IV-free — no machines, no wires, just freedom.
“Now we’re back to the pole for the time being,” Katie said. “I hate that for her. But I’ll remind her that even with the pole, she can still do the same things she’s done the last few days.”
MORE FROM UWK: “While she can’t speak her testimony, I will”: A mother’s faith through her daughter’s life-threatening diagnosis
Miracles and the Weight of Separation
For Katie, this latest challenge is about more than labs and numbers — it’s about the emotional toll of long hospital days spent away from home, missing the everyday moments with her husband and two older children, Rylie and Grayson.
“I did not foresee this coming,” she wrote. “It feels a little like guilt. Berkley’s a walking miracle, but I’m still grieving the big and small moments I’m missing… But God reminded me — even when I can’t be everywhere, He is.”
From the peace that floods in unexplainably, to the kindness of a nurse who lingers just a little longer, Katie says she sees God in the little things — and in the enormous smile Berkley flashes, even on hard days.
Strength in Weakness, Faith in the Fire
The Dearman family continues to wait for additional test results, including key answers about Berkley’s long-term HLH treatment and whether she’ll require a bone marrow transplant.
But Katie’s heart remains rooted in hope.
“It’s the flames that strengthen the faith… not the comfort,” she wrote. “I feel like I’m out of one set of flames, and back in another. High on a mountain with Berkley’s health and the miracles He’s performed, but in a valley with missing my family.”
Quoting 2 Corinthians 12:9, Katie leaned into her vulnerability:
“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
“So I’ll gladly put it out there,” she said, “and say He’s the reason I’m still standing.”
Keep Praying — He’s Not Done Yet
Despite the weariness and the unknowns, the Dearman family continues to celebrate every step forward and cherish every moment with their brave little girl.
“Our God is so good. Miracles upon miracles upon miracles,” Katie said. “Thank you to our prayer warriors who have hung on to this long journey. Your prayers have made such a difference.”
“Faith isn’t proven in the comfort. It’s proven in the flames.”
If you want to help Berkley’s fight against HLH financially and support the Dearman family, a GoFundMe has been set up on their behalf where you can donate.
UPDATE: August 4, 2025
Update: After 69 days in the hospital, Little Berkley walks the halls again
MEMPHIS, TN — Just two weeks ago, the Rapid Response Team rushed into 3-year-old Berkley Dearman’s hospital room at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. She was in respiratory distress, readmitted to the ICU, and placed back on a ventilator.
Today, she’s walking the halls again — tongue out for concentration — and her mother says it’s nothing short of a miracle.
“Just TWO short weeks ago, Rapid Response Team was being called, and Berkley was readmitted to ICU and on a vent,” wrote her mother, Katie Dearman, in a heartfelt update. “But this girl, with God’s strength, has shown every doctor that nothing can hold her down. It’s nothing short of a miracle. A miracle we do not deserve, but He gave freely.”
Choosing Faith Over Fear
Berkley’s journey over the last two months has been filled with highs and lows. Diagnosed with Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) — a rare, life-threatening immune disorder — she has endured multiple ICU stays, emergency surgeries, and weeks tethered to IV poles and life-saving machines.
Her mom admits it would be easy to let fear creep in.
“This was the exact place Berkley was in right before her rapid deterioration — learning to walk again,” Katie said. “As we start to wean HLH medications, we could let the unknowns and what-ifs consume us. But we won’t. We will choose faith. Not just when we feel like it, not when we’re in a good mood, not when it’s all that’s left — but right here, right now.”
Small Steps, Big Victories
In a moment Katie calls “freeing,” Berkley was able to walk without being connected to any medical equipment for the first time in 69 days.
“She will continue to have her NG tube because one of her HLH meds is in pill form, but for four hours a day, Berkley is completely free,” Katie shared. “No IV pole. Nothing connected to her. My chains are broken, I’ve been set free — it’s a literal example of going from being held back to feeling joy and freedom again.”
The sight of Berkley swinging her arms as she walked, grinning with determination, brought her mother to tears.
Still Fighting, Still Believing
Berkley continues to eat well and gain strength. Her family is waiting on further test results to help determine the next steps in her treatment plan.
“Keep praying!!!” Katie wrote. “God is not done! His mercies are new every day for all of us.”
For now, each step down the hospital hallway is more than just a sign of physical progress — it’s a testament to resilience, community prayers, and unshakable faith.
Update: Berkley Dearman is off the ventilator and her condition is improving
MEMPHIS, TN — Just days ago, three-year-old Berkley Dearman lay silently in a hospital bed at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, intubated and heavily sedated, as her family prayed for a miracle. Today, her mother says, they’re witnessing one.
“Look at Berkley!!” Katie Dearman wrote in an emotional update on Facebook Sunday morning. “Just less than a week ago, think about where we were. I know where I was just 4 days ago saying, ‘Lord, hear our cries.’ He heard them, and He has answered BIG!”
MORE: A mother’s faith through her daughter’s life-threatening diagnosis
After nearly a month in the hospital battling Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis, a rare and life-threatening immune disorder, Berkley is now calm, stable, and showing new signs of healing. The biggest milestone? Berkley has been taken off of the ventilator. Katie says she could see beauty even in the tough times little Berkley was on the ventilator.
“A 3-year-old on a ventilator is usually restless, agitated, and needing sedation to stay calm,” Katie said. “But not Berkley. Yesterday and today, she peacefully petted the soft lamb a volunteer brought her. She fell asleep holding it gently. My heart can’t help but see the Lamb of God in that moment.”
A gentle moment after the storm
The symbolic lamb, Katie believes, was more than a toy. It was a message of peace in the middle of suffering.
“God is saying, ‘She is peaceful in her suffering. I am her peace. I am protecting her.’ And I believe it.”
Berkley’s team of doctors are thrilled to see her transition off the ventilator successfully and begin breathing completely on her own. Her lab results are also moving in the right direction.
Medical discoveries and a developing picture
In the past week, Berkley experienced a mysterious flare in symptoms, including a full-body rash. Now, doctors suspect a blood pressure medication called Hydralazine, started on July 11, may be the cause.
Her eosinophils — a type of white blood cell — spiked to over 5,000, a dramatic jump from their previous range of 0–100 throughout her stay. Since stopping the medication, those numbers have begun to fall, suggesting a possible drug reaction.
Doctors are now investigating a condition known as DRESS (Drug Reaction with Eosinophilia and Systemic Symptoms), which may have triggered a secondary HLH flare — a severe overreaction of Berkley’s already stressed immune system.
For now, her care team continues to watch closely and adjust her medications as needed.
A Praise Report: One test comes back normal
Amid all the challenges, there was a moment of celebration: Berkley’s T-cell levels came back normal — a strong indication that she is not dealing with leukemia or lymphoma.
“While we’re still waiting on the lymph node biopsy to give us definitive answers,” Katie shared, “we are praising God for every victory.”
MORE FROM UWK: “While she can’t speak her testimony, I will”: A mother’s faith through her daughter’s life-threatening diagnosis
Hope on the Horizon
The family’s greatest hope remains unchanged: to bring Berkley home — healthy, breathing on her own, and on the road to recovery.
“There are no fevers. She’s calm. She’s stable. And we’re hopeful that next week brings clarity,” Katie said. “Through it all, God is so good. He is our hope. He is our healer. He is our everything.”
As the family continues to wait for critical answers about Berkley’s diagnosis and long-term treatment — including whether she will need a bone marrow transplant — one thing is certain: their faith is unshaken.
“Keep praying, keep believing,” Katie wrote. “He’s not done!!! We’re witnessing miracles and God is using doctors to get to HIS answers.”
How You Can Help
The Dearman family is still accepting donations and prayers as they continue this journey at St. Jude.
For the latest updates on Berkley’s condition, follow public Facebook group page, Praying for Berkley.
If you want to help Berkley’s fight against HLH financially and support the Dearman family, a GoFundMe has been set up on their behalf where you can donate.
Download the Unfiltered with Kiran app from the Apple App Store and Google Play to stay updated on the latest news across the Capital area.
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