'Drowned' toddler brought back to life

Gerard Seenan
Thursday July 15, 2004
The Guardian

The parents of a two-year-old boy who was resuscitated more than seven hours after he fell into a garden pond yesterday spoke of their joy at his remarkable recovery.
Doctors at Heartlands hospital, Birmingham, thought they had little chance of reviving Joe Towey after he was brought to casualty with no heartbeat. But for seven hours they massaged the toddler's heart and managed to bring Joe back to life. He has sustained no long-term damage from the accident.

The toddler's parents, Michael Towey and Jennifer Nock, were at Joe's bedside as doctors worked on him.

Ms Nock noticed something was wrong on Boxing Day when she called Joe and received no response. She went to look for him and discovered him lying in a pond at the bottom of the garden.

In the hospital, doctors noticed his body temperature had plummeted and a faint hope grew. Nick Makwana, who led the recovery team, said: "His temperature was only 26 degrees, when it should be 36.5. We knew that if he had been cooled very quickly there was a chance."

When the body cools rapidly the brain and other organs can go longer without oxygen and glucose.

Joe spent five weeks in hospital, but is now back home and fully recovered.