After pulling Waylon Saunders' lifeless body from a pool, the toddler without a pulse spent three hours technically dead. However, his story wasn't finished yet!
Against all odds, the toddler survived the horrifying ordeal. And this little boy is a testament to just how good God is!
If you need proof God still performs miracles today, look no further than little Waylon Saunders. The 20-month-old managed to find his way outside at the home daycare tasked with supervising him. And he ended up falling through the layer of ice covering the outdoor swimming pool.
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By the time Waylon's body was retrieved, the little boy had already spent at least five minutes underwater. Found lifeless and without a pulse, firefighters raced to get the toddler to the nearby hospital.
When Waylon arrived at the Charlotte Eleanor Englehart Hospital, his body temperature came in so low it wouldn't even register on the hospital's equipment and he was in cardiac arrest. Doctors and nurses throughout the facility dropped everything they were doing to come and assist with resuscitation efforts.
“The other doctors that I work with at our family health team came running, left their offices, to help out,” Dr. Nathan Taylor recalled.
Dr. Taylor estimates at least 20 different individuals jumped in to help out. That includes the EMS team who transported Waylon and stayed behind to help save the toddler without a pulse.
The team started a constant rotation of CPR on the little boy. They also worked to raise his body temp.
“It was truly a team effort: lab techs were holding portable heaters in the room at one point; EMS personnel also helped out by rotating through as compressors and helping with managing his airway and nurses were even running to microwave water to help with warming,” Dr. Taylor said.
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The group spent three hours giving Waylon Saunders CPR as they waited for another team from the Children's Hospital in London to arrive and transport the boy to another facility. And just before they arrived, the medical staff at the Charlotte Eleanor Englehart Hospital finally succeeded in getting a sustained pulse!
From there, they stabilized the toddler and turned him over to the critical care team from London, Waylon was kept sedated and comfortable throughout the whole ordeal.
"We were really trying to keep him alive so we could give him the best chance at good recovery," explained Dr. Janice Tijssen from the Children's Hospital in London.
Raising Waylon's temperature and getting a sustained pulse was a turning point. From there, the medical staff continued working together to help the little boy overcome the odds before him.
"There was a big team helping him then, keeping him comfortable as his organs started to heal. Then allowing him to wake up. He's exceeded all expectations," Dr. Tijssen said.
Miraculously, after three hours without a pulse, Waylon Saunders not only survived but recovered!
The toddler who'd spent three hours without a pulse ended up leaving critical care less than two weeks after his accident. And then, about a week later, the hospital released him home where he continued to amaze with his recovery.
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"He beat the odds. Everyone worked so well together and the transition was seamless between different stages of his care journey," Dr. Tijssen remarked. "Everyone used their skills, and we truly worked as a team. We couldn’t have hoped for a better outcome."
The teamwork and dedication demonstrated by all of Waylon's caregivers just go to show they were doing God's work. And it meant the world to the boy's family.
"They did something amazing. They're heroes," said Waylon Saunders' mother, Gillian Burnett. "The other day I told them that they're God's soldiers. I will forever love them, they are like a big family to us. They have a piece of my heart for the rest of my life."
Months later, Waylon is back to being your typical happy, healthy, and active toddler. He'll forever be a reminder to his family that God is real and still performs miracles today.
Please be sure to share this story with someone who could use encouragement!
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"For you have delivered my soul from death, and prevented my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living." Psalm 56:13
h/t: Inspire More
Featured Image Credit: Facebook/FaithPot Uplifting
Mel is the senior writer for GodUpdates, finding, writing and sharing Christian, uplifting, and health-related stories from around the world. Mel has a passion for writing and graduated with a degree in English from Randolph-Macon College in Virginia. When she’s not researching and writing stories, Mel is very active in her church. You can usually find Mel playing board games with her husband and two young girls, giving someone a hug, or hunting down a good cup of coffee!