Toddler dead for 101 minutes comes back to life

A toddler who was thought to be legally dead for 101 minutes miraculously survived a near-drowning experience after an intense session of CPR.

Gardell Martin, a 22-month-old Pennsylvania boy, was playing along an icy creek with his older brothers when he fell into the stream, NBC Philadelphia reports. Martin was swept away in a fast-moving current and his 7-year-old brother Greg ran for help.

His family searched downstream, but were unsuccessful, so they called 911.

“A neighbor found Gardell nearly a quarter-mile away, caught up in a tree branch and water gushing around him,” NBC Philadelphia wrote.

When an emergency crew arrived, the crew performed unbroken resuscitation efforts.

He was worked on in the ambulance, at the hospital, in the helicopter and inside the emergency room.

Martin’s body temperature was 77 degrees inside the ER, which is over 20 degrees below normal.

Hypothermia had set in from the cold waters, so the team worked quickly to warm the child’s body during constant CPR.

After 1 hour and 41 minutes, the child’s heart starting beating again.

The onset of hypothermia actually helped him survive, doctors say.

It slowed his metabolism and gave his organs “some degree of protection from cardiac arrest.”

Contact Ashley Casper at acasper@reviewjournal.com. Find her on Twitter: @TheCasperA