Nathan Woessner, the 6-year old boy from Illinois who was buried in the sand for almost three hours, could be out of the hospital within two weeks.

He is still in critical condition and remains to be on ventilator at Comer Children's Hospital. His lungs have already been cleansed after inhaling sand from the sinkhole.

"The greatest challenge is having his lungs get to the point where we can get the breathing tube out," Dr. Tracy Koogler said.
However, the doctor confirmed that they have not fully taken every grain of sand in his lungs and might probably have them in for six months.

On the other hand, Nathan is already on his way to recovery. His brain is functioning normally and has been responding to touch.

"He may be completely normal ... or may have a light asthma. We're going to have to wait and see," the doctor said.

The boy' grandfather, Reverend Don Reul, believed that God 'intervened' in the accident. "In the Bible, you read a lot about the miracles ... but this hit home with us. I think there are a few sermons that will come out of this," he said.

On Friday, the Woessner family and their friends visited the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore park "to enjoy a bit of vacation time".

Nathan's father and his friend decided to climb Mount Baldy, a popular landmark in the park, when the boy and his friend Colin, age 8, also followed them up.

The 6-year old boy stepped in a sinkhole and was swallowed up. Colin ran up to call their dads to ask for help.

Nathan's parents were calling out to their son and they can hear Nathan struggling beneath the sand. Other people started helping the family to dig but the boy just kept going down. When the rescuers finally arrived, they used backhoes and a pole to locate Nathan.

After four hours, Nathan was finally out but was 'cold and lifeless'. A few minutes later, the coroner confirmed that he has a heartbeat and was immediately rushed to the hospital.

Mt. Baldy will be closed indefinitely while park officials continue to investigate according to the Supervisory Park Ranger Bruce Rowe. They plan to check the area to see if there are other similar voids and other unknown hazards. They will also cooperate with experts from the Geologic Resource Division of the National Park Service.