Two-yr-old survives 18 minutes under water

A two-year-old girl has made an almost complete recovery after spending nearly 20 minutes at the bottom of a swimming pool.

A two-year-old girl has made an almost complete recovery after spending nearly 20 minutes at the bottom of a swimming pool.

Scans showed Oluchi Nwaubani had been starved of oxygen for some 18 minutes three times longer than the brain can usually survive.

resilient: Oluchi Nwaubani and her mother Tayo. Oluchi had been starved of oxygen for 18 minutes three times longer than the brain can usually survive

Despite being warned that even if she were to live she may never walk or talk again, her parents say she can run around and say "what she wants".

Doctors say while the case is highly unusual, it is not unprecedented.

Prompt response by both ambulance and helicopter to the scene of the accident in south London, last September may well have made the difference between life and death.

Oluchi was rapidly airlifted to a hospital and after three days she was breathing again on her own.

As well as the rapid, high level of intensive care Oluchi received, her youth combined with the cold water may also have helped her beat the odds.

Age helped

"Contrary to popular belief small children are quite strong they have very healthy hearts, lungs and brains," said Ffion Davies, an emergency consultant and member of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health.
"On top of that, the cold water will have slowed down the body's metabolism and so you can actually survive quite a long period without oxygen."

Children cool faster than adults because they have a higher ratio of surface area to weight than adults.