A 22-month old boy was revived with CPR after he was pulled from an icy creek. Gardell Martin and 2 of his brothers were outside playing when he fell into the stream that runs through their 5-acre property. He was swept away by the rapidly moving current.
Icy ordeal
His 7-year old brother, Greg ran into the house and screamed that he cannot find Gardell. The mother, Rose Martin quickly searched the property before realizing that her young son might have fallen into the creek which was swollen due to the melting snow. She called 911 while her 2 teenage daughters started walking downstream in search of the toddler.
A neighbor found Gardell caught up in a tree branch and water was gushing around him.
The ambulance crew arrived moments later and the child did not have a pulse, thus CPR was started. Attempts on resuscitation continued for 101 minutes in the ambulance, at a community hospital, aboard a helicopter, and in the emergency room of the pediatric wing of Geisinger Medical Center.
At the right place
The body temperature of Gardell was 25 degrees C when he arrived. The normal body temperature is 37 degrees C. In this case, the boy’s profound hypothermia has an advantage that significantly slowed down his metabolism and providing his organs a certain degree of protection from cardiac arrest.
CPR was continued as the team steadily warmed his body. Upon reaching 28 degrees C, a pulse was detected. At that point, his heart restarted. Hours after, Gardell regained consciousness and his brain function was normal.
Importance of first aid training
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and using an automated external defibrillator (AED) can save a life. Prompt delivery of life-saving techniques improves the chances of survival during emergencies.
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For more information, check out these sources:
https://www.healthline.com/health/first-aid/cpr
https://www.webmd.com/first-aid/cardiopulmonary-resuscitation-cpr-treatment
https://www.mayoclinic.org/first-aid/first-aid-cpr/basics/art-20056600