A toddler is recovering in BC Children’s Hospital after he nearly drowned in Cultus Lake, according to family members.
BC Emergency Health Services said it responded to a medical incident near Sunnyside Boulevard and Columbia Valley Road around 6:30 pm Thursday.
Three ambulances and one air ambulance responded.
“Paramedics cared for and transported one patient to hospital in serious condition,” a statement from BC EHS reads.
According to a fundraiser created by the toddler’s great aunt, Jenni McGrew, she said that the young boy was airlifted to the Vancouver hospital.
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His family from Hope and his great-aunt have been providing updates on social media about the boy’s condition.
His father said his son is “fighting very hard.”
He added that the boy was taken off sedation Saturday evening again in an “attempt to see how he reacts.”
“This [Saturday] morning when we did that he was able to he was able to open up one of his eyes, and … he’s moving his right arm a bit. So I was excited. It was holding his arms and praying as he was coming to come through. He’s trying to wake up really hard.”
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McGrew added Sunday morning after taking the toddler off sedation Saturday evening it was “by far the most improved he has been but not quite where they would like to see him just yet so he is sedated again.”
“This is progress so this is GOOD,” she wrote in an update. “They will keep him sedated until tomorrow and try again.”
The family and loved ones are hoping for “sludge and fluid to get out of his lungs,” McGrew said.
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A GoFundMe to support the family pay for accommodation and food expenses has been set up.
As of Sunday morning, the fundraiser has collected $11,555, which is more than double the GoFundMe goal.