Canadian toddler Waylon Saunders had no heartbeat for three hours after a near-death drowning incident at an in-home day care in Ontario. But medical professionals at Charlotte Eleanor Englehart Hospital managed to keep him alive through an extremely precarious situation.
Drowning is one of the leading causes of death in children under 4 in Canada. Globally, drowning is the leading cause of unintentional, injury-related deaths, according to the World Health Organization. Thankfully â and despite all odds â 20-month old Waylon narrowly avoided becoming a part of those statistics.
Waylon was in the pool face down for five minutes.
On January 24, Waylon fell into an ice-covered pool at a home day care center in southwest Ontario, Canada. He was in the water for at least five minutes. When firefighters arrived at the day care, Waylonâs body was cold and lifeless. Still, they brought him to Charlotte Eleanor Englehart, reported NDTV.
The hospital staff there rallied to save Waylonâs life. Charlotte lacks some of the resources and personnel of larger childrenâs hospitals, but when they learned of Waylonâs condition, on his way to the hospital, everyone there, including lab workers and nurses, stopped what they were doing to help bring Waylon back to life. They performed CPR on him for three hours.
It was a 'team effort' to bring him back.
âIt 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," a Dr. Taylor told NDTV. "And the whole time we had support on the line from the team in London [where a larger childrenâs hospital is located]." Their efforts paid off.
'He's exceeded all expectations,' one of Waylon's doctors said.
The team was able to raise Waylonâs body temperature. When it reached 82.4F, they started to have hope, according to CBC News. Afterward, a critical care team traveled to Petrolia to continue care. "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," said Dr. Janice Tijssen, director of pediatric critical care unit at Children's Hospital, London Health Sciences Centre.
As a part of his care, Waylon was intubated and was on a ventilator as doctors worked to stabilize his organs. Waylon was released from the hospital on February 6, reported NDTV. He is continuing to recuperate at home. His family believes being at home will aid in his recovery process. They are in for a long road ahead.
The day care operator has been criminally charged.
As Waylon heals, the day care has been hit with municipal bylaw infractions based on problems with how access to the pool was secured, according to CBC News. The 50-year-old day care operator has also been charged with criminal negligence causing bodily harm. She will appear in court in March.
'They're God's soldiers,' Waylon's mother said of the medical team.
Waylonâs mother Gillian Burnett is exceedingly grateful for the life-saving measures the medical staff at Charlotte took on her sonâs behalf.
"They're heroes," she told CBC News. "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."Â
