After six years of trying, Kristal and Chris Carlson had already given up on having another baby. They already had four children, but wanted another. Then one August day in 2013, Kristal found out she was expecting. On March 28, 2014, a beautiful baby girl was born, and they named her Eden.
“Her birth was a miracle,” Kristal said.
Yet Eden wouldn’t need just one miracle to make it in this world.
She was the sunshine of a caring family, growing up in Fayetteville, Arkansas, with her dad, stay-at-home mom, three brothers (ages 11 to 17), and an 18-year-old sister.
On Feb. 29, 2016, Kristal was at home with Eden and two of her sons (who were 14 and 15 at the time). Early in the afternoon, Kristal went to take a shower. When she came back, Eden was gone. She had thought Eden was in the living room with the boys, but they had thought Eden was with her. Kristal called out her name, but Eden didn’t respond. She grew worried.
Then another possibility occurred to her—the pool. It seemed improbable Eden had gone there, since a baby gate and a closed, heavy door separated Eden from the pool. But Kristal still hurried to check. What she saw in that moment will be etched in her memory forever.
The lifeless body of her baby girl was floating in the pool. She might have been in there for 15 minutes already.
Right away, Kristal pulled Eden out of the freezing cold water and started administering CPR. At that moment, her 21-year-old daughter came home and immediately called 911. Precious seconds went by. Eden’s heart wasn’t beating.
Ten minutes later, the paramedics arrived. They took over the CPR.
Another 40 minutes went by. Eden was rushed to an emergency room, where the staff again administered CPR. The bone-chilling 41-degree water in the pool had put Eden’s body in a state of hypothermia, and that, paradoxically, had improved her chances. On a summer day, Eden would have had no hope of survival.
While a 20-strong medical team fought for Eden’s life, Kristal went on Facebook and asked everybody she could to pray for her daughter. Word spread quickly; there must have been thousands of people praying, Kristal said.
After 100 minutes of CPR and two hours without a heartbeat, Eden came back to life—a miracle.
She was transferred to Arkansas Children’s Hospital. There, a doctor broke the bad news to the Carlsons that Eden had grievous internal injuries. Her brain was damaged, her kidneys and liver had shut down, and her blood was acidic. The doctor gave her between 2 and 48 hours to live.
Kristal and Chris are immensely grateful to Harch and all the medical staff who helped save their daughter—not to mention all the friends and strangers who offered support. They also believe divine intervention allowed Eden to survive, Kristal says.
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