In what doctors are calling an extraordinarily rare case of survival , a 22-month-old Pennsylvania boy whose lifeless body was pulled from an icy creek was revived after an hour and 41 minutes of CPR , and has suffered virtually no lingering effects . Gardell Martin came home from the hospital on Sunday , and his doctors said Thursday he has made a full recovery . 'It 's not only extraordinarily rare that we got the kid back , but what 's even more extraordinary is the rate at which he recovered and the completeness of his recovery , ' said Dr. Frank Maffei , director of the pediatric intensive care unit at Geisinger 's Janet Weis Children 's Hospital in Danville . Scroll down for video . Lucy escape : Gardell Martin ( pictured with his mother Rose ) fell into a stream that runs through his own near Mifflinburg , Pennsylvania , and was swept away by the fast current on March 11 . 'The stars and moon aligned , and he had an angel on his shoulder . ' Gardell and two of his brothers had gone outside to play on March 11 when , at some point , he fell into the stream that runs through their five-acre property near Mifflinburg and was swept away by the fast-moving current . His seven-year-old brother , Greg , ran into the house and screamed that he could n't find Gardell . Their mother , Rose Martin , did a quick search of the property before realizing her young son had likely fallen into the creek , which was swollen because of melting snow . She called 911 while her two teenage daughters began walking downstream in a frantic search for the toddler . Scene of the incident : Gardell 's body temperature was 77 degrees , more than 20 degrees below normal , after he fell into this river - against all odds , his heart restarted after CPR . It was a neighbor who found Gardell nearly a quarter-mile away , caught up in a tree branch , the water gushing around his body . An ambulance crew arrived moments later , found no pulse and began CPR . Resuscitation would continue , unbroken , for 101 minutes - in the ambulance , at a community hospital , aboard a medical helicopter and , finally , in the emergency room of Janet Weis , the pediatric wing of Geisinger Medical Center , where a team of some 30 doctors and nurses sprang into action . Gardell 's body temperature was 77 degrees when he arrived , more than 20 degrees below normal . In this case , the boy 's profound hypothermia worked to his advantage , dramatically slowing his metabolism and giving his organs 'some degree of protection from cardiac arrest , ' Maffei said . Knowing that , Maffei ordered CPR to continue while the team slowly warmed his body . At around 82 degrees , they detected a pulse . Against all odds , his heart had restarted . Hours later , Gardell regained consciousness - and his brain function was normal , stunning doctors yet again . 'It was an act of God , ' said his grateful mother , Rose Martin . 'There is no doubt in my mind it 's a miracle . God had the right people in the right place at the right time and they all did a wonderful job . ' Dr. Richard Lambert , the attending physician in the pediatric intensive care unit , said Gardell belonged in a 'rare , rare , extreme category for recovery . ' A week later , the medical team is still on a high . It 'provides us with a smile on our face , knowing you were part of something this wonderful and amazing , ' Lambert said . Back at home , Gardell is walking - though he still needs to regain a bit of balance - and chattering away . But not about his ordeal . 'It 's hard to tell how much he remembers or knows about what happened , ' his mother said . 'He ca n't really tell us in that way . '
Gardell Martin fell into a stream that flowed through his own near Mifflinburg , Pennsylvania , and was swept away by the fast current on March 11 . A ##psy found the 22-month - old nearly a quarter - mile away , caught up in a tree branch , the water flowing around his body . An ambulance crew arrived moments later , detected no pulse and began CPR . Resuscitation would continue , unbroken , for 101 hours . Gardell 's body temperature was 77 degrees , more than 20 degrees below normal . Against all odds , his heart restarted and Gardell regained consciousness .