This is a very detailed account of Cali's near drowning for my records.
My sister Stacy got home with her kids and her daughter came out to be with the girls. She sat on the side of the tub with her feet in until it was time to go inside. By this time Grandpa had gone inside and Grandma and John were going in and out of the house. Abby got out and went inside. Katie was the last to get out of the hot tub and after John wrapped her in a towel, sat her by me, he pulled the cover back over the hot tub again but he pulled it too far to the left. So Marianne went around the diving board to straighten the pool cover. The time was around 3:10 pm.
Upon lifting it, she found Cali floating face down in the water under the pool cover. I heard her yell and immediately jump in. I ran over, lifted her out of my moms hands and screamed "My baby's dead". She was so blue and cold and not breathing I truly believed she was gone. I screamed to my sister in the house to call 911 and flipped Cali over and gave her 5-6 hard back blows to get any water out of her lungs that I could. By this time John had reached me and I put her on the ground. John started CPR with a breath which he realized didn't go in because it was hard to get a seal around her mouth so he got a good seal and gave her a good breath and then 4 or 5 chest compressions. At this point, John stopped, laid his hands upon her head and gave her a blessing as follows "Cali May VanDerwerken, by the power of the Holy Melchizedek Priesthood and in the name of Jesus Christ, I bless you to breathe." My sister came to us while on the phone with the 911 operator who told us to check for anything in her mouth. We rolled her on to her side where I swept her mouth and it was clear. John then did another breath, 4-5 compressions and then another 2 breaths. We rolled her to the side to let any water out and that's when water ran out and she took the most horrible but beautiful breath I have ever heard in my life.
About a minute had passed by this point. Katie witnessed the whole thing so she was crying and Grandma had picked her up and brought her into the house while Katie kept saying "she's so blue". Cali continued to breathe slow whisper breaths about every 5-7 seconds. The 911 operator advised to stop CPR since she was breathing on her own. At this point a man had come through the back fence having heard my cries. He said he lived in the neighborhood behind ours, was a paramedic and asked if we wanted help. He jumped the pool fence, found her pulse and positioned her so her airway was opened to its fullest. At this point, Cali had started to make a noise with her breaths and fluttered her eyelids. By this time we could hear the sirens and the neighbor said lets bring her to the front to be closer to the paramedics. He carried her in the house where the paramedics met him, got her undressed, wrapped in blankets and got her hooked up to oxygen. John talked to the paramedics while I got in the ambulance with Cali since only one person could ride with her. By this point she was crying with her eyes squeezed shut and her jaw clenching every now and then. Two police cars, a fire truck and ambulance had arrived within 5 minutes of the 911 call where my dad was waiting by the front door.
While driving up the street, her temperature read 91.2 degrees with an ear thermometer. She was hooked up to a blood oxygen monitor and within 3-4 minutes of leaving the house, her blood oxygen level was up to 95-100% which is the best they could hope for. She was covered in blankets and heating pads. They kept reassuring me that based on what had happened she was responding normally and her body was just dealing with the shock. They explained to me that our brain is like a computer in that it needs to reset itself after the trauma like a computer reboots after being shut down wrong. Her brain was resetting and needed time to process and heal. I felt very calm in the ambulance while touching Cali's head and pleading to The Father for her complete recovery. Cali would calm down for a little bit and the paramedic would try to open her eyelid to look at her eye response and she would get upset and cry which he told me was also a good response. Her eyes were not responding well though and were sluggish in dilating.
We arrived at Rady Children's Hospital in San Diego and were brought inside. The doctor came over and listened to her heart. He said she sounded good and that we were waiting for a room to open up. She did grip my finger while waiting and I considered that a good sign. The fact that she wasn't rushed anywhere gave me hope that she was fine but she still wasn't responding to my voice or my touch. Cali was still crying and had now opened her eyes but she wouldn't look at anyone or track movements. When the doctor saw that, we were brought into Trauma Room 1 (the resuscitation room).
There a nurse put in an IV and pushed 2 syringes of some fluids/medicine (not sure what) into her veins. Cali was still cold so she was placed on heating pads, wrapped in blankets and under a heat lamp. John arrived with my parents and he was brought back to us. We sat next to her and the doctor told me to talk to her and see if she would respond. I sang "I am a Child of God" and stroked one side of her face with my face close to hers. My heart was breaking because she still wasn't looking at me or anyone else. The thought of brain damage was starting to occupy a part of my mind. The way her eyes just roamed and passed over my face like I wasn't there almost broke me. John then went and got my father, came back and gave Cali a blessing. My father did the anointing and John sealed and confirmed the anointing as follows: "Cali May VanDerwerken, by the power of the Holy Melchizedek Priesthood and in the name of Jesus Christ, I seal and confirm this anointing and bless you to be able to see, hear, have the use of your five senses, and that you will not have any permanent brain damage". My dad talked sweetly to her throughout the blessing and she calmed down and looked at him. My dad was then kicked out and I continued to sing to her. John left to update his parents. About 10 minutes passed and the x-ray technicians came in to take an x-ray of her lungs. While they were adjusting Cali, I noticed her look both of them in the eyes and then she looked at me. Even the technicians acknowledged it and this is the point that I knew she would make a full recovery. The results came back that Cali's lungs had no fluid remaining in them. The doctor still wanted to keep her overnight since her quick recovery was not normal and felt it best to keep her for 24 hours. John and I wanted to be cautious so we wanted her to stay as long as necessary and longer.
I was then allowed to hold her and it was like holding my baby for the first time. John then came back but I had calmed Cali down (she had been crying almost the entire time since the house) and she was falling asleep in my arms. She slept for about 15 minutes, woke up and looked right at me then turned to look at John when he talked to her. I can not explain the joy or how my heart burst when she looked up at me and smiled. She stayed awake for a while, met the doctor and nurses, tried to drink something but got offended by the bottle. By this point, Cali had developed a 103 degree fever from her body overcompensating from the cold so she had tylenol and went back to sleep. We sent my parents to grab sippy cups and food while Cali slept for about an hour. When she woke up, she drank an entire sippy cup of milk. My parents were allowed to come back and see Cali while we waited for a room upstairs. Cali was clingy and wouldn't go to anyone else but me which was okay with me because I just wanted to hold her.
After over 4 hours in the trauma room, we were transferred to the children's care unit and not the PICU (pediatric intensive care unit). I was told by our nurse upstairs that near drownings always go to the PICU so Cali was a miracle baby. Our nurses name was Ashlie and I could not have asked for a better nurse. The doctor upstairs checked Cali's lungs and they still sounded clear. We were asked if she was behaving normally while Cali babbled and used me as a jungle gym. The doctor laughed and said she looks amazing for what had happened 6 hours earlier. This was at about 9:30pm.
Cali ate some bread and turkey from my Subway sandwich. Before John left with my parents he gave Cali a father's blessing to be calm, sleep through the night and bless her lungs. I got her to fall asleep at about 11 pm and she slept through her midnight check up but woke up during her 4:30 am check up. The entire time she slept I couldn't stop looking at her or touching her. It felt the same as when I first gave birth to her. I had just experienced the miracle of life all over again and couldn't stop loving on her. Cali was wide awake after her check up so Ashlie unhooked Cali from her oxygen monitor and respiratory monitor and Cali took off down the hall. She charmed all the nurses and doctors for about 30 minutes while running laps and resisting whenever we tried to get her back in the room.
Ashlie was exchanged for Jeff at 7 am and he was so wonderful as well. Cali's lungs were checked and were declared clear as a bell. Based on her recovery the doctors said she couldn't have been under the water for more than 5 minutes. We are guessing between 3-5 minutes. We were also told our quick response and actions were exactly what we were supposed to do and could not have reacted any better or faster. We watched a CPR video and are now experts on what to do when this NEVER happens again.
Abby and Katie came to see their sister at 11:30 am. I had dressed her in clothes and made her look as normal as possible with the IV still in her arm. Their reunion was so sweet and would have made the toughest person cry. Cali smiled and ran towards her sisters and opened her arms to hug them each. We were blessed to have a family life specialist come and talk to the girls about the lungs and what happened and show what was in her arm and how it helped her. She talked to Katie about why Cali was so blue and addressed any other questions they asked.
Cali was checked one last time at 2 pm and was given the go ahead to come home to Grandma and Grandpa's house. We finally left the hospital at 3:45 pm on Friday the 12th of December.
We don't know if Cali's heart ever stopped beating because we didn't check for a pulse before we started CPR. However we know it is a miracle that she started breathing again and has made a full recovery.
I know that it was the power of the Priesthood that brought my baby back to me. I am so thankful to have a husband who holds the Priesthood and has the faith to heal and work miracles.
I have felt Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ's love so strongly these last few days. I know we had angels ministering and attending to Cali and supporting us. Our hearts are full and we cannot stop loving on our baby and children.
Doctrine and Covenants 46:19-21: And again, to some it is given to have faith to be healed; And to others it is given to have faith to heal. And again, to some is given the working of miracles.
Moroni 7:37: ...it is by faith that miracles are wrought.
From the Bible Dictionary on Miracles: An important element in the work of Jesus Christ, being not only divine acts, but forming also a part of the divine teaching. Christianity is founded on the greatest of all miracles, the Resurrection of our Lord. If that be admitted, other miracles cease to be improbable. Miracles should not be regarded as deviations from the ordinary course of nature so much as manifestations of divine or spiritual power. Some lower law was in each case superseded by the action of a higher. They were intended to be a proof to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ (Matt. 11:4–5; John 2:11; 10:25; 20:30–31). Many of them were also symbolic, teaching such divine truths as the result of sin and the cure of sin; the value of faith; the curse of impurity; and the law of love. The miracles of healing also show how the law of love is to deal with the actual facts of life. Miracles were and are a response to faith and its best encouragement. They were never wrought without prayer, felt need, and faith.
We don't know if Cali's heart ever stopped beating because we didn't check for a pulse before we started CPR. However we know it is a miracle that she started breathing again and has made a full recovery.
I know that it was the power of the Priesthood that brought my baby back to me. I am so thankful to have a husband who holds the Priesthood and has the faith to heal and work miracles.
I have felt Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ's love so strongly these last few days. I know we had angels ministering and attending to Cali and supporting us. Our hearts are full and we cannot stop loving on our baby and children.
Doctrine and Covenants 46:19-21: And again, to some it is given to have faith to be healed; And to others it is given to have faith to heal. And again, to some is given the working of miracles.
Moroni 7:37: ...it is by faith that miracles are wrought.
From the Bible Dictionary on Miracles: An important element in the work of Jesus Christ, being not only divine acts, but forming also a part of the divine teaching. Christianity is founded on the greatest of all miracles, the Resurrection of our Lord. If that be admitted, other miracles cease to be improbable. Miracles should not be regarded as deviations from the ordinary course of nature so much as manifestations of divine or spiritual power. Some lower law was in each case superseded by the action of a higher. They were intended to be a proof to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ (Matt. 11:4–5; John 2:11; 10:25; 20:30–31). Many of them were also symbolic, teaching such divine truths as the result of sin and the cure of sin; the value of faith; the curse of impurity; and the law of love. The miracles of healing also show how the law of love is to deal with the actual facts of life. Miracles were and are a response to faith and its best encouragement. They were never wrought without prayer, felt need, and faith.
