Toddler survives near-drowning after almost 2 hours of CPR
A 22-month old survived after almost drowning in an icy creek — and doctors are calling his survival "extraordinary," NBC Philadelphia reports.
Gardell Martin was successfully revived, after a full hour and 41 minutes of CPR. NBC Philadelphia reports that the boy suffered but has made a full recovery. Martin fell into a stream near his family's home while playing with his two brothers.
"It's not only extraordinarily rare that we got the kid back, but what's even more extraordinary is the rate at which he recovered and the completeness of his recovery," Dr. Frank Maffei, director of the pediatric intensive care unit at Geisinger's Janet Weis Children's Hospital in Danville, where Martin was treated, told NBC Philadelphia. "The stars and moon aligned, and he had an angel on his shoulder."
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Doctors said the hypothermia Martin suffered in the icy stream helped stop his body from going into cardiac arrest. Martin's mother, meanwhile, told NBC Philadelphia that his recovery was "a miracle" and "an act of God."
