Kelowna first aid

CPR saves a toddler after rescued from an icy creek

In an extraordinary survival story, a 22-month old boy was revived after CPR. Doctors consider this as an extraordinary feat. The lifeless body of the body was dragged out from an icy creek and revived after an hour of continuous delivery of CPR. The body did not have any lingering effects.

Prompt care

According to doctors, Gardell Martin fully recovered and returned home. It was an extraordinary event where the child was successfully revived, especially the rate at which he recovered and fullness of his recovery.

Kelowna first aid
In a short while, the ambulance arrived and the boy had no pulse, thus they performed CPR.

One day, his 7-year old brother, Greg ran into the house claiming that he cannot find Gardell. According to Rose Martin, their mother, she quickly searched the property before realizing her son might have fallen into the creek. She called for emergency assistance while her 2 teenage daughters started walking downstream in search for the toddler.

A neighbor discovered Gardell ensnared in a tree branch with water gushing around him. In a short while, the ambulance arrived and the boy had no pulse, thus they performed CPR. The attempts on resuscitation continued for up to 101 minutes – in the ambulance, community hospital, medical helicopter and in the emergency department at Geisinger Medical Center.

In the right place with the right people

The temperature of the child was 25 degrees C upon arrival at the healthcare facility. The hypothermia worked as an advantage by drastically slowing the metabolism and allowing the organs “some degree of protection” from cardiac arrest.

CPR was continued as the team steadily warmed the body of the child. With the temperature of around 28 degrees C, a pulse was detected. In a short while, his heart restarted. Hours after, Gardell regained consciousness and his brain function remains normal which stunned the doctors.

For more information about this story, click here.

LEARN MORE

Learn how to help by enrolling in a course on CPR and for more information, check out these sources:

https://www.healthline.com/health/first-aid/cpr

https://www.webmd.com/first-aid/default.htm

https://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/qa/what-is-cardiopulmonary-resuscitationcpr

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