'Miracles do happen': Parents of toddler who fell into pool grateful to community
Gillian Burnett was almost finished her work day on Jan. 24 when she received a terrifying call about her young son.
Waylon, 20-months-old, was found submerged in an outdoor pool at a home daycare near Petrolia, Ont.
The family estimates Waylon was under water for five minutes. His body temperature was just 23 C.
“The thoughts that go through your mind are pretty scary,” Gillian told CTV News. “Your heart is in your stomach. It just felt like it was impossible to get there [the hospital].”
When they arrived at Petrolia’s Charlotte Eleanor Englehart Hospital, Gillian and Waylon’s father Garth Saunders, witnessed an all-out battle to save their son’s life.
Gillian says teams of emergency room staff performed CPR for over two hours, “Tears were in their eyes. It really affected them. But they didn’t stop! That is something I’ll never, ever forget.”
But then, just as it was feared the fight to save Waylon might be lost, a faint heartbeat was detected.
A team from Children’s Hospital in London arrived to help transfer him.
Gillian and Garth were told their son had less than a 10 per cent chance of surviving the trip.
Waylon and Gillian Burnett. (Source: Submitted) Happily, just over a week later, Waylon has beat the odds.
There is a long road ahead, but on Tuesday, Waylon was moved from critical care to a general ward.
Gillian said her son has suffered a traumatic brain injury from being submerged. It is too soon to know, but she says doctors fear the injury may impact Waylon’s eyesight and memory.
Even with the trauma, Gillian added there are positive signs.
“We have lots. He is breathing by himself. His heart rate is going and the best thing right now is he is giving little smiles,” she said.
Smiles are something Gillian also occasionally wears amid her worries. One is for the many prayers said for Waylon she believes have been answered. Another is worn for health care workers in Petrolia and London.
“Between the doctors, the nurses and everybody that supported us, I hope that you guys all know how very thankful our whole family is for you!”
The family is also thankful to those who have already donated to an online campaign to support their current and anticipated future medical expenses.
While Gillian said Lambton OPP are investigating the circumstances surrounding Waylon falling into the pool, she expressed that her family is currently focussed on his care and not the investigation.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cargo ship had engine maintenance in port before Baltimore bridge collapse, officials say
The cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent 'routine engine maintenance' in port beforehand, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
Families shocked after Niagara Falls hotel cancels bookings made year in advance of solar eclipse
After having the foresight to book their Niagara Falls hotel rooms more than a year in advance, several families planning to take in the solar eclipse next month were shocked to find out their reservations had been cancelled.
B.C. rescuers face 'high likelihood' of failure to reunite orphaned orca with pod
The race to reunite an orphaned orca calf that’s stuck in a shallow lagoon with a neighbouring pod has entered its fifth day, and a marine scientist says the clock is ticking.
Video shows police interrupting auto theft in progress outside Toronto home
New video footage obtained by CP24 shows the attempted theft of a vehicle in a North York driveway earlier this month that was ultimately interrupted by police.
Majority of Canadians believe in life after death: Angus Reid survey
A new survey from the Angus Reid Institute has found that a majority of Canadians believe in some form of life after death, a proportion that has held steady for decades.
MyPillow, owned by U.S. election denier Mike Lindell, formally evicted from Minnesota warehouse
A court ordered the eviction Wednesday of MyPillow from a suburban Minneapolis warehouse that it formerly used.