“Miracle boy” survives 20 minutes underwater
Aug 10, 2011, 4:44 AM | Updated: Oct 10, 2012, 7:28 am
Surf rescue swimmer Doug Knutzen carries Dale Ostrander to the shore of the Cranberry Rd. beach approach Friday Aug. 5, 2011, in Long Beach, Wash. Rescue swimmers Eddie Mendez, left, and Will Green found him Ostrander in the surf. The boy was under water for up to 20 minutes, and is now hospitalized and conscious. (AP Photo/Damian Mulinax/Chinook Observer)
(AP Photo/Damian Mulinax/Chinook Observer)
A 12-year-old Spanaway boy died in the surf near Long Beach last week, but five days after being pulled lifeless from the water, he’s not only alive, he’s talking.
Dale Ostrander was underwater for at least 20 minutes. He was dead when he was pulled from the ocean. He had no heart beat or vital signs, but rescuers never gave up on him. They performed CPR, and by the time Ostrander reached the hospital in Ilwaco he had a faint pulse.
He was flown to Portland where doctors told his parents Chad and Kirsten Ostrander not to expect too much.
“They never expected him to live,” Chad Ostrander told reporters. “They expected him to be a vegetable, never walk, never talk, never say a word.”
Ostrander continues to amaze. He’s not only a alert, but he’s speaking in full sentences. Doctors say he’s still not out of the woods. He could have permanent brain damage.
Kirsten Ostrander said the family’s faith is keeping them upbeat. “It has miracle written all over it,” she said. “There’s no other real word for it.”
Ostrander was with a church group at the Washington Coast when he went under. He was caught in a riptide and carried out into the surf.
