Caleb Teodorescu, Arizona 2-Year-Old, Doing Fine After Heart Stops Beating For Half An Hour

On Nov. 25, 2-year-old Caleb Teodorescu technically died after being found face-down in the family swimming pool. The Phoenix toddler's heart had stopped beating for anywhere from 30 to 40 minutes, according to various news reports, and he wasn't breathing when his mother got him out of the swimming pool.

A neighbor administered CPR to the boy, but it didn't work to restore his heartbeat or breathing. Teodorescu was then rushed to the hospital, The Arizona Republic reported.

"He quite literally died outside the hospital," Dr. Corey Philpot, a pediatric critical care physician at the Banner Thunderbird Medical Center, told ABC News.

But now just a couple weeks later, Teodorescu has made a full recovery, with no brain injury or other medical problems, ABC News reported.

The Arizona Republic reported that doctors initially thought it would take anywhere between six months to a year for Teodorescu to recover, and that he might have to be sedated for up to a month.

ABC 15 reported:

Doctors told Caleb's parents, Ovy and Mihaela Teodorescu that their son would likely never be the same. Victims of near drownings usually suffer life-altering brain damage due to the lack of oxygen and blood flow. Some victims end up in a comatose state and depend on machines and constant care for the rest of their lives.

But a week after the incident, Caleb was able to move and speak again, according to the Arizona Republic.

"It's just amazing, the best Christmas miracle you could get," dad Ovi Teodorescu told MyFoxPhoenix. "You call someone like that dead. And he's alive today, and not only that he's alive, he has no disabilities, he talks, he walks."

Last year, 2-year-old Gore Otteson's heart stopped for an hour after he fell into water in an irrigation ditch in Colorado, MSNBC reported. Just like Teodorescu, Otteson made a full recovery even after being in the water for 25 minutes.

"I thought I had lost him," his mother Amy Otteson told TODAY. "I thought for almost an hour that he was dead."

Comments

[Mihaela Teodorescu]

11:07 AM on 03/24/2012

As for me, I am thankful for and count all the blessings that God in HIS mercy has given me and am thankful because HE was with me that horrifying day and HE didn’t forsake me, as HE promised HE never would, and more than that, HE answered my very “specific” prayers and gave me exactly what I asked for!
Thank you my LORD, JESUS!

[Mihaela Teodorescu]

11:06 AM on 03/24/2012

God bless all those people who ridicule me for my statements and faith! May God have mercy on you if you ever pass through a similar situation! We fasted and prayed for Caleb for 10 days starting the day of the incident. Many brothers and sisters from local churches and those from far away, even across the globe, helped us in fasting and prayer! When I look back, it seems so coincidental that he died on a Friday and on that Sunday following the accident, exactly 3 days after, we received the MRI scan results that showed absolutely no sign of brain damage. We were all amazed at the power of GOD and everyone praised and thanked GOD for HIS mercy! We had decided to fast for 10 days, and 10 days we did.. Caleb was speaking exactly 7 days, to the hour and to the minute after he had initially died! The 10th day he rode his tricycle out of the hospital and came home as a normal child!! If anyone calls this “just a coincidence or pure luck,” I believe that is ONE CRAZY comment!! They won’t be thinking the same the next time they will be at the beach and their child walks away and disappears in the fraction of the second that they turn around to pick up their cell phone or drink or whatever…

[Mihaela Teodorescu]

11:05 AM on 03/24/2012

A few days before my husband left home on this regular job, he took Caleb with him on an errand and was teaching him to sing a Christmas carol. In the middle of his singing, Caleb stopped and said “Daddy, Caleb is going to fall in the pool and die!” My husband turned around and looked at him, horrified by his comment. Caleb said again, “Daddy, Caleb is going to fall in the pool and die!” After the second such comment, my husband spoke to him and said, “don’t say such thing! Caleb will not die! Jesus won’t let Caleb die!” Caleb stared for a few moments at his daddy and then said, “Jesus won’t let Caleb die! Jesus won’t let Caleb die!” Then he continued on singing his new Christmas carol. As odd as this incident was at the time, one may think it was coincidence, but I say God knew what HE was about to do and that HE was going to show HIS power and might! HE made the heavens and the earth and all the things that have life in them! HE brought Lazarus from the dead! and if we all read carefully, HE didn’t go heal Lazarus right away as soon as HE was called by his sister, because HE wanted us to know that HE is the ONE and ONLY TRUE GOD and HE has the power to take away life and HE has the power to give it back as HE wishes!

[Mihaela Teodorescu]

11:05 AM on 03/24/2012

No matter if he was in the water for 30 seconds, 1 minute or 2 minutes,...he didn't have a pulse for almost 40 minutes, which means he had no blood going to his brain... As my sister in law is a medical student, she was advised by the deacon and professors in the university where she was in Chicago in the days following this ordeal, that a brain that suffers a drowning and is without oxygen for 20 minutes, is completely dead. Just a minute or two could cause severe damage, and that was exactly the expected outcome the doctors at the hospital that day were looking at and warned us about... They could not give us any hope that our son, if he was going to be alive, would ever walk or talk or do the normal things that normal kids do. They did a wonderful job caring for Caleb, but the rest was completely out of their control. None of the procedures that were performed could ever guarantee a complete recovery. They had seen too many cases and this wasn't one of the better ones.
But having faith in the One and Only True GOD, Jesus was on our side and we are thankful to HIM and we praise HIM and give HIM all the Glory and Honor!

[Mihaela Teodorescu]

11:04 AM on 03/24/2012

My oldest daughter jumped on the phone and called the police the moment she heard me screaming in the back yard, neighbors across the street and two blocks away heard my screams...My good neighbor started CPR on Caleb. For those who commented on the fact that all parents should know CPR, please believe me, I have gone to the course and was certified for it, but in the shock that I was in, I forgot everything about the procedure, I blew in his mouth and nose and did everything I could mentally think to do! But I was screaming at the top of my lungs, because I LOVED my child and I couldn't see him dead in my arms as he was!!
You can all call me a fool, neglecting parent, however you would like to paint me... I pray that that God has mercy on all the Atheists out there and may HE turn their hearts to HIM! It was not the cold water that saved his life as some people imply.. Once I reached the hospital, where doctors were fervently working on getting his pulse back, the doctor in charge told me that Caleb was "very, very sick and could die anytime in the next 24 hours," even though he beat the odds and they were able to get a pulse back on him. Only 9 out of 10 children are brought back a pulse after an incident like this..

[Mihaela Teodorescu]

11:03 AM on 03/24/2012

I told JESUS that I was never ashamed of HIM and that I will never be ashamed to proclaim HIS power, and that HIS word says that HE will never forsake or let down anyone who puts his trust in HIM and I asked HIM not to be ashamed of me either!! I know I am a sinner, but I also know that HIS precious blood has the power to cleanse my sins! I know I am not perfect, but who is?? In those moments I heard a small, still voice which told me "Be still, everything will be all right..." I kept hearing this small voice as if someone was right behind me whispering this in my ear. Little did I know, but my whole family, husband, parents, brother and sister in law were experiencing the same thing. I knew this was the voice of Jesus! As horrified as I was by what had just happened, a feeling of calmness and peace came over my being. I never stopped crying and praying though and never stopped imploring Jesus for HIS mercy!!

[Mihaela Teodorescu]

11:02 AM on 03/24/2012

In spite of all the nasty comments throughout the posts here, I would like to bless you all and tell you that I DO HAVE a GREAT GOD!!! and that HE is the ONE that watched my son when I couldn't for a few seconds. He know ahead of time what HIS plan was with Caleb. I thank HIM because in the moments following the drowning I called out to HIM and HE CAME RUNNING!!! I knew that he was dead and please believe me, many thoughts passed though my mind in those moments, but as much as I would have liked to keep blaming myself for his death, I still had my mental faculties to realize that the only thing I can do is implore HIM to intervene, because it is Jesus' name who I proclaimed just a few minutes prior to the incident and I knew that HIS WORD is TRUE and that, because HIS WORD is TRUE, HE will prove HIS faithfulness by HIS works!! Yes, I told HIM that I want Caleb back because my family was not complete without him.. I asked HIM to give him back to me because just a few days ago, I had spoken to Caleb on a very serious note and realized that my words were not an accident. I told him that he will be a servant of GOD when he grows up and that he will do the works of our AWESOME GOD, JESUS CHRIST!

[Mihaela Teodorescu]

11:00 AM on 03/24/2012

It only took me a few seconds to realize that I couldn't hear Caleb's voice among the chatter of my 3 smaller children, so I called out his name and when I didn't get a response I asked the other 2 where he was. When they told me he wasn't with them, I jumped and called them to go search.. The pool was the first place I went to check! I hated that pool since the day he was old enough to walk! Unfortunately, we bought the house with it and had wanted to put up a fence around it since. But the economy being the way it went in the few months following our move in, we lost a considerable amount of income. We were forced to stop making mortgage payments because of this. We didn't have the money to get someone to come out and install al fence, but I did search for used pool fences on Craigslist and eventually bought one from someone, but that still needed to be modified and more fence added to it.. I found someone that had a brand new katch-a-kid net and bought it for a fraction of the price than it was originally, but when I called around to find someone to install it, they wanted $100 an hour to come and just drill the holes around the pool for the hooks and he estimated a full day of work just for that

[cprxprt]

10:13 PM on 12/07/2011

InkMuse and Sweetee, I am with you.
Though AHA Chain of Survival for kids: Prevention, CPR, 911 and ALS.
Safety is no accident. Prevention is paramount.
Injury is the top cause of death for kids.

Above all: Everyone needs to know CPR/AED well.
Even these parents who may just have "faith" in God alone.

[InkMuse]

07:46 PM on 12/07/2011

In their situation, I would have called an ambulance FIRST and had someone perform CPR while waiting for the ambulance to come. Sounds more logical than having someone perform CPR first, THEN drive to the hospital. And precautions should definitely be taken if you have a pool around kids who don't know how to swim (and even those who do know how!).

I'm glad the child was okay.

[GOODDOC1]

09:22 PM on 12/07/2011

I'm hoping 911 was called while the nrighbor performed CPR. EMS would have continued CPR and administered advanced life support measures, continuing while enroute to the hospital.

[Misheal Greenwald]

06:56 AM on 12/16/2011

The standard protocol is to call 911 first for adult victims, children you do cpr first then call 911. You can always check with the American heart association for the current protocol actions for first aid if you aren't sure.

[sweeteee53]

07:42 PM on 12/07/2011

IT IS NOT AN ACCIDENT IF YOU DONT HAVE THE BRAINS TO CHILDPROOF YOUR HOUSE. THIS WAS PREVENTABLE NOT AN ACCIDENT. AND IT IS A LAW IN AZ THAT YOU MUST FENCE THE POOL IN, IN ADDITION TO THE BLOCK WALL. NOW, IS THAT AN ACCIDENT. THIS WASN'T A HAPPY STORY, IT WAS A HAPPY ENDING.

[lrmartin1211]

07:48 PM on 12/07/2011

And you KNOW it wasn't???? My brother has a pool and as "per law" had a fence and gate around it to protect his children. As they were signing the final paper work, my nephew, then about 3, brought the gate IN TO THEM. He had watched how the men put it up and was able to remove it - hinges and ALL!

[sweeteee53]

09:11 PM on 12/07/2011

and just how many times do u think that happens......???now THAT would be an accident if the kid had drowned...it was not due to neglect on the parents' part by not doing SOMETHING to secure that child.

[Vicbmw]

08:09 PM on 12/07/2011

WOW CLAM DOWN SWEETEEE53..... just wanted to yell back at ya

[sweeteee53]

09:12 PM on 12/07/2011

just kills me how neglected children are today...i am passionate about children and stupid parents.

[jpoelstra]

07:21 PM on 12/07/2011

For some reason both of these near drowning victims did not get Hyproxia. There body temp must have been low enough to save them from Hyproxia, but warm enough to save them from Hypotherma! Would be interesting to know what the water temp was?

[diprivankt]

07:57 PM on 12/07/2011

Hypoxia...no r

[pjgard64]

09:14 PM on 12/07/2011

i knew what he meant even though it was misspelled. noneed for grammer police on this one

[GOODDOC1]

09:27 PM on 12/07/2011

The Mammalian Diving Reflex stops breathing (to prevent water from entering the lungs) and slows or stops the heart, which helps limit the brain damage from hypoxia. The lowered temperature will also help limit it because it slows the metabolism which lowers the use of oxygen. He may not have had time to have reached true hypothermia (93 degrees rectally), but his temp. would have been lower than normal.

[Jimmy B]

03:19 PM on 12/08/2011

Right, the old "you're not dead till you're warm and dead" mantra.

[KarenBryanBSRN]

07:06 PM on 12/07/2011

There are miracles and perhaps it is God's way of speaking to us at a turning point. The news has been filled literally with the imposed death one after the other of parents killing children--also adult children killing parents. The economy, the shame of losing homes, never regaining a job has driven families to the brink of despair. The birth of a child is miracle that persists. The value of a young life is more precious then words can describe; I lost a daughter this year (July 25, 2011) and never as a parent will be the same yet God has a purpose in this for me as her mother, for those around me who are thankful it was not them--they did not have to take the elevator all the way down. Life begins 100% when you enter HIS kingdom. I have died three times and have experienced this life a true life beginning. The parents in this story are blessed it shows with our healthcare and technology (the best in the world only in America can your life be saved from illnesses that no other countries combined could address) and need to be thankful. America is a one of a kind country we need as 'her people' to stand tall and persist in the rediscovery of our Constitution and true leadership not the wrath that has destroyed this country in less than four years. Blessings to all.

[JoltBillRandal]

06:19 PM on 12/07/2011

Wonderful story. Be well, Little Guy. Be well, Mom and Dad.

[vampyreincubus]

06:09 PM on 12/07/2011

close to one of the best miracles ever, very close. but i think the only one better than this would be for people everywhere to start co operating and work together instead of just finding excuses to hate one another... that to me would be a priceless miracle.

[benice2somebody]

06:36 PM on 12/07/2011

Sending ya some "love" I wish everyone thought to be kind to others! What a "wonderful" world we would live in...

[vampyreincubus]

07:28 PM on 12/07/2011

totally agreed now i am happy this child survived and will have a chance at a future that is something that a lot of people don't get and it is always wonderful to see someone defy all odds and make it... just a shame i feel my dreams will never be realized

[Ljds923]

07:32 PM on 12/07/2011

Amen!!