Medical miracle: Denver child's heart beats again after 14 hours

DENVER (KDVR) — A miracle of modern medicine or a miracle from a higher power? No matter what you believe, the recovery story of Cartier McDaniel is nothing short of amazing.

At just 4 years old, his heart stopped beating for 14 hours — and then all of a sudden, it restarted. Now, his family and doctors are sharing an experience they've never seen before.

Cartier was a typical child full of energy, with a big heart and a lot of love to go around. But in a matter of days, his heart stopped beating. It's a haunting memory that Cartier's parents, Destiny Anderson and Dominique McDaniel, relive daily.

"They're saying your son's not breathing, one, two, three — that's all I remember hearing," McDaniel said.

Anderson said her son woke up with a fever and it progressed to chills, frequent urination, extreme thirst and lethargy. When his breathing became heavy, Anderson rushed Cartier to the emergency room at Children's Hospital Colorado.

"I had to carry him in because he just wasn't moving," Anderson said. "His mouth was turning blue and his eyes were sinking in."

Emergency room nurses rushed Cartier in, and within minutes, he went into cardiac arrest.

'There was fear that he might not survive this'

Dr. Aline Maddux, associate professor of pediatrics in the pediatrics intensive care unit, is part of Cartier's medical team.

"His heart stopped beating. We tried to revive it, and there was fear that he might not survive this," Maddux said.

Maddux said Cartier was diagnosed with strep A, which led to sepsis, and his body's response to the bacteria caused his organs to fail. She said CPR was not effective, and they were forced to put Cartier on a form of life support called ECMO, short for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. It's a machine that supports a person whose lungs and heart are unable to function properly.

"The longer the time period the heart isn't beating, the more concerned we are that it's not going to restart," Maddux said.

Cartier was on life support overnight and into the next day — and still no heartbeat.

"I feared that they were going to tell us that our son was gone," Anderson said.

'It's time to go talk to God. It's time to talk to the man upstairs'

As a mother, Anderson was stunned at how quickly her son's condition progressed. Cartier had a fever on Monday and was in the pediatric ICU on life support on Wednesday, which sparked a rollercoaster of emotions, including fear, shock and guilt.

After 13 hours passed with no heartbeat, family members gathered at the hospital to say their goodbyes. Anderson leaned on the support and faith of McDaniel, her partner.

"It's time to go talk to God. It's time to talk to the man upstairs," McDaniel said.

There was no doubt in McDaniel's mind that his son would survive because of his unrelenting trust in God. And with that, he clutched Anderson's hand and they prayed hard, even praying with family members. And within one hour, the unthinkable happened.

"His heart just restarted!" Maddux said. "That was really an incredible thing that occurred."

After 14 long hours, Cartier's heart was pumping again, and it was something doctors had never seen before.

"Everybody else was jumping up and screaming and everything," Anderson said. "I just still couldn't process what was going on ... like you gave me the worst news of my life to the best news of my life."

'God got the last say'

Cartier's journey has defied the odds -- and some would say science -- as his heart is now beating perfectly. But for this faithful family, it can only be one thing.

"God got the last say," McDaniel said. "I know that God is real. I'm a firm believer in Jesus Christ."

They're asking for continued prayers for Cartier as he will likely remain in the hospital for several more weeks, possibly months. He's on the road to recovery and slowly getting his strength back as he undergoes testing to determine whether he suffered long-term damage.

As Cartier's parents remain in the hospital 24/7, work life and medical fees have been tough to balance. A fundraiser has been set up to help.