BOY SURVIVES 65 MINUTES UNDER ICY WATER On February 6, 1994, a six-year-old boy fell into an icy river near Innsbruck, . Firefighters recovered his body four miles downstream. His heart had stopped beating and his body temperature had plummeted to 62 degrees. The air temperature that day was 25 degrees; the water temperature was 36 degrees. Attempts at CPR failed as the boy was transported by helicopter to a nearby hospital. At the hospital the boy’s blood was rewarmed gradually using a heart-lung machine, which gradually rewarmed and oxygenated the blood before returning it to the body through a vein in his leg. When his body temperature reached 91 degrees his heartbeat resumed, and his blood pressure returned to normal. Six days later he was out of intensive care, and five months later he was back at school The only sign of his ordeal is reduced nerve sensation in his hands and feet. The sudden extreme cold slowed his metabolism dramatically, reducing his need for oxygen. “This rare case demonstrates the possibility of successful resuscitation with good functional recovery after submersion in very cold water for over an hour,” doctors said. “It is important to keep the patient cold during transport to minimize oxygen consumption until the coronary bypass can be initiated.” SOURCE: The Washington Post via Slim Ray