A miracle birthday after near drowning

Drowning can happen in a moment, in a swimming pool, bath, or in as little as 2.5cm of water. Chantelle Bothma lived every parent’s worst nightmare when she found her toddler floating lifelessly in the pool.

Described as a ‘miracle baby’ by Dr Palesa Monyake, Lucas’ fight for survival involved the teamwork of healthcare teams at two hospitals and the critical helicopter medical transfer between the facilities. On May 19, he will celebrate his second birthday.

“I will never forget him,” said Monyake, “Neurologically, we were very worried about Lucas as it wasn’t clear how long he was in the water, and he had to be resuscitated several times.”
The pediatric intensivist practising at Netcare Garden City Hospital said in the end, all their prayers were answered, and he came through it all

When making a bottle for her son, while talking to her daughter on December 28, Chantelle had no reasons to think Lucas would manage to open the heavy gate kitchen.

“A moment later I looked for him and thought he was with my mother. Then I saw the gate was slightly open. I found him floating face down in the pool. I thought he was gone. I was beside myself. My first reaction was to shout out to God for His help. We rushed Lucas to the local hospital in Emalahleni while I did CPR but there was no life. I just prayed,” said Chantelle.

She said doctors at Cosmos Hospital resuscitated Lucas although he was not breathing for himself. They prepared the family that there could be brain damage and referred him to Netcare Garden City Hospital for the specialised care he needed. During this transfer, it was Helicopter Emergency Medical Service care practitioner Sabrina Albertyn who helped care for him.

“There is such limited space in the air ambulance, and we must be prepared for all emergencies, especially when moving a critical patient,” said Albertyn. Once they landed at the hospital they shared important information on Lucas’ care thus far in an effort to make the continued care seamless.

Monyake explained Lucas was on maximum respiratory therapy as he was not breathing on his own. From the pool water in his lungs, he had severe aspiration pneumonia. “We were also worried about hypoxia to the brain and the potential for brain damage given that his air supply had been cut off for an uncertain length of time.”

Lucas was placed under neuroprotection, which includes keeping the person in a medically induced coma and with targeted temperature control, reducing brain metabolism to protect the brain. Chantelle spent every possible moment at the hospital, praying. “It was very scary seeing my son in the unfamiliar ICU environment. The nursing sisters reassured me and explained that this is normal in the ICU to give him the best possible chance of recovery.

“Lucas did not have an easy path. We resuscitated him twice in the paediatric ICU and we thought we were going to lose him,” Monyake added.

Monyake sais Claire and her mother had amazing faith throughout. Even after Monyake had to hand Lucas’ care over to a colleague, they were invested in the child’s outcome. “We prayed together that the results of the MRI would come back normal – lo and behold, it did. A few days later, he had an electroencephalogram (EEG) to check the electrical activity of his brain. Again, the results came back normal – confirming he would make a full recovery, which really did not seem possible just a week before.”

Albertyn said Chantelle’s knowledge of CPR certainly helped his survival. “All parents and caregivers should learn CPR to be prepared for such an emergency. Have the phone numbers for emergency medical services, written down in easy to find places, and saved in your cellphone.”

Chantelle said her son has made a full recovery and has a love of gospel music. “God was really there for us. We could not have asked for better doctors and nurses, and we are so humbly grateful for their hard work. Today Lucas is running and playing like there has never been anything wrong with him. I am so grateful for the doctors and nurses, as well as the flight team for looking after him so well.”

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