Miracle Toddler Makes Full Recovery After Drowning, Boy Brain Dead for 40 Minutes
A 2-year-old Arizonian boy is alive and well after being legally dead for 40 minutes.
Caleb Teodorescu was found by his mother, Mihaela Teodorescu, face down in the family swimming pool and was unconscious.
The toddler's heart was stopped and he was not breathing, leaving his mother hysterical as she prayed and begged for his life.
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"I was crying out to God. I was saying, ‘God you cannot take him from me,’” said Teodorescu to ABC news.
After a neighbor heard her screams and began CPR on the lifeless toddler's body, he was rushed to the hospital where doctors acted quickly.
Using a process known as Therapeutic hypothermia, doctors lowered Caleb's body temperature to reduce the risk of brain damage, after the 40-minute lapse of blood flow.
Dr. Corey Philpot, of Banner Thunderbird Medical Center, insisted that the treatment saved Caleb's life.
"We cooled him down to 32 degrees and put him in cold hybernatory state to prevent ongoing brain injury,” said the doctor. “He quite literally died outside the hospital.”
After four days of reheating his body, there were clear signs of cardiac improvement.
Caleb was soon on the road to a full recovery, and he was released within seven days.
"He started to move, and then his movements became purposeful, and then he opened his eyes," a stunned Dr. Philpot said.
According to Abcnews.com, doctors were surprised and impressed with Caleb's strength, considering how quickly he was able to spring back to normal.
“What was shocking was his quick recovery and his going-home state,” Dr. Philpot added. "The average person may not notice anything wrong with him at all. In a couple months you wouldn’t even notice what he went through.”
Teodorescu is said to be convinced that Caleb's full recovery was an early Christmas gift from God.
