Four-year-old Cartier McDaniel from Denver miraculously survived after his heart stopped beating for 19 hours. On April 8, he was swiftly taken to Children’s Hospital Colorado after he fell ill and his condition deteriorated.
Doctors revealed he had suffered cardiac arrest, prompting them to place him on life support. His family, initially gathered to bid farewell, witnessed a remarkable turn of events as Cartier fought for his life against all odds.
Despite doctors’ efforts over 19 hours to revive him, Cartier’s prognosis appeared grim, prompting his extended family to prepare for the worst. However, against all expectations, Cartier’s heart resumed beating. While medical professionals were unable to offer a scientific explanation, Cartier’s father, Dominique, shared with NBC News: “It was God.”
Cartier’s mother, Destiny Anderson, said: “The whole hospital room was spinning. I was shaking.”
“I couldn’t believe it was happening,” Anderson said of how she felt when doctors earlier indicated that her son’s condition was bad.
She said doctors made desperate attempts to revive Cartier, initially trying CPR without success. They subsequently placed him on life support to enable the blood to circulate through an artificial lung for oxygenation.
Throughout a grueling 19-hour period, medical professionals evaluated the extent of damage to Cartier’s other organs due to oxygen deprivation while persistently attempting to restart his heart.
Anderson said, “At that point, we’re just praying for the best. He was on life support but it was only a matter of time before the machine stopped working.”
The family of Cartier gathered at the hospital and offered prayers in preparation to bid him farewell. Anderson said, “I’m not going to lie, I did have doubts that everything was going to be OK. I’m human. I’m thinking, ‘How am I going to tell my kids I’m not bringing their brother home?”‘
“I was trying to make peace that this may be what God wants.”
Then strangely for no reason, doctors noticed his heart beating again. However, uncertainties remain regarding his long-term prognosis due to the prolonged period without oxygen.
His family disclosed that the cardiac arrest stemmed from a group A Streptococcus infection, culminating in sepsis.
However, specific details regarding the infection have yet to emerge.
