101-Minute Miracle: 22-Month-Old Gardell Martin Was Able To Pull Through After Not Having A Pulse For Over An Hour
Rose Martin was forced to live out every parent’s worst nightmare after her 22-month-old son Gardell went missing just outside of their home in Mifflinburg, Pa. When a neighbor found Gardell face down in a creek and unresponsive, her entire world was flipped upside down.
After nearly two hours of non-stop CPR, the Martin family was treated to what they can only describe as a miracle. Doctors at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, Pa., on the other hand, say it’s the result of good training.
“Right before we did one last pulse check and Dr. Lambert and I were checking pulse simultaneously and we looked at each other and said he’s got a pulse,” Dr. Frank Maffei, a pediatric critical care doctor at Geisinger, told WNEP16. “In my 23 years I have not seen an hour and 41 minutes come back to this degree of neurological recovery. That doesn’t happen by accident. It happens because people are trained.”
According to Rose, the cold water Gardell was submerged in actually worked in his favor by preserving his organs and his brain. It took 101 minutes of CPR before doctors were able to locate a pulse, and doctors said the push to keep Gardell alive required the help of nearly 50 people. Even more miraculous than his survival is the seemingly little neurological damage caused by the incident.
“Every day is progress. Yesterday he started smiling and talking more, and today he is walking on his own,” Rose told WNEP16.