Toddler suffers brain damage in pool tragedy

A little girl who fell into a pool and started breathing again 40 minutes after she was declared dead has suffered a severe and probably irreversible brain injury, doctors said.

It is unclear whether 22-month-old Mackayala Jespersen can hear or see. She can move her arms and legs, but there is no purposeful movement, doctors said.

Dr James Cappon said it is unlikely her condition will improve significantly.

“She has without question suffered brain injury,” said Dr Troy McGuire, who is treating the child. “The fact that Mackayala is still alive defies medical logic.”

The child was found floating face down in her family’s swimming pool in Orange, California on November 7 and rushed to Anaheim Memorial Medical Centre, where doctors pronounced her dead.

About 40 minutes later, a detective was conducting a routine investigation into the death when he noticed her chest was moving. He summoned doctors, who were able to revive her.

The case has baffled hospital and emergency workers who had struggled to revive her with breathing tubes and a heated blanket.

Doctors said Mackayala can make sounds but cannot speak and needs a feeding tube.

McGuire said the girl could be transferred to a rehabilitation facility within two weeks and go home within a month.

“Through the grace of God, many have called the fact that my daughter’s survival against all odds is a miracle,” her father Gabriel Jespersen said in a statement.

The Medical Board of California has launched an inquiry into whether doctor error played a role in the situation. The state Department of Health Services is also investigating.