Surfing icon Bethany Hamilton has asked for a medical miracle for her ‘precious’ nephew, who is fighting for his life after drowning in Hawaii.
Bethany’s three-year-old nephew, Andrew, was found not breathing inside a bathtub. He was medevacked to Kapiolani in Oahu on Saturday morning.
According to his worried family, the young boy still has a heartbeat – but is currently in intensive care.
Bethany, who is a shark attack survivor, 34, said: ‘We are wrecked. But I know how proper medical support can make or break someone’s chance of survival.
‘In this case we’re asking for help from anyone who has information of what we can do to give my nephew the best chance.’
Bethany’s brother Noah, who is not Andrew’s dad, also asked people for prayers – calling his little nephew a ‘strong, resilient kid’ and an ‘amazing swimmer.’
Surfing icon Bethany Hamilton posted on Saturday that she needed a medical miracle for her nephew who drowned in Hawaii
Her brother Noah Hamilton said his nephew Andrew was found not breathing in shallow water of a bathtub
He wrote: ‘Join us in prayer for my brother’s fifth youngest child Andrew as he was life-flighted to Oahu in the middle of the night.
‘He’s three-and-a-half going on five. He’s a strong resilient kid and an amazing swimmer. He was found not breathing in shallow water of bathtub. His vitals were enough to get him to Oahu.’
The family were able to get ahold of Dr. Paul Harch – a world-renowned expert on hyperbaric oxygen therapy in cases of children drowning.
It was his son who notified Bethany under her post: ‘Dr. Harch is my father. I just messaged you with his cell number. He wants you to give him a call. Sending you and your family lots of love.’
HBOT involves a patient breathing pure oxygen in a pressurized chamber. It aims to increase the level of oxygen that dissolves in the bloodstream – which could aid in healing brain tissue.
In one extraordinary case, Harch was able to reverse the brain damage of 2-year-old Eden Carlson – after she pushed her way through the baby gate and a heavy door, then jumped into the family pool in Arkansas in February 2017.
When her mother found her, she was lying face-down and motionless.
After two hours of CPR and 17 EpiPen shots, her heart started beating again, but doctors warned she would be confined to a vegetative state for the rest of her life.
Andrew (pictured bottom row, center, surrounded by his family) was medevacked to Kapiolani in Oahu on Saturday morning and still has a heartbeat, according to Bethany
Pictured: Little Andrew and his family, who are pleading for prayers following the tragedy
Pictured: Dr Paul Harch. In one extraordinary case, Harch was able to reverse the brain damage of 2-year-old Eden Carlson – after she pushed her way through the baby gate and a heavy door, then jumped into the family pool in Arkansas in February 2017
Now, in what is thought to be a world first, Eden is running, talking, and laughing with as much energy as before – after undergoing 40 rounds of oxygen therapy.
The results were so stark and Eden’s MRI scans so clearly improved that her case has been published in a medical journal, Medical Gas Research.
The therapy is not FDA-approved and is not covered by insurance.
Bethany is best known for a shark attack at age 13 that nearly derailed her career.
In 2003, while she was surfing off the coast of Kauai with a friend’s family, a 14ft tiger shark bit off her left arm just below the shoulder.
The others were able to swim her back to shore and put a tourniquet on, but she had already lost 60 percent of her blood by the time she arrived at the hospital.
A tiger shark that was caught and killed shortly after the attack had pieces of a surfboard lodged in its jaws, and it was later determined to have been the attacking shark.
Despite her devastating injury, Bethany took less than a month to recover before returning to surfing, and she had her first professional contest after the attack in 2004.
Their hopes were answered when they were able to get ahold of Dr. Paul Harch – a world-renowned expert on hyperbaric oxygen therapy in cases of children drowning
Bethany is best known for a shark attack at age 13 that nearly derailed her career
In the most recent update, Bethany (pictured) wrote they were looking for a doctor that specializes in the hyperbaric chamber at Queens or Kuakini in Oahu and if anyone knew any information to reach out
Users on social media sent warm wishes to the family.
One wrote: ‘Miracles are real! Our 13 year old daughter had a drowning accident doing a breath holding contest with her friends. She passed out and was under water for at least 10 minutes before she was discovered.
‘Prayers, CPR and significant medical intervention brought her back to us. We were blessed to have her make a near full recovery. Praying for your family.’
Another wrote: ‘He has a heartbeat. Hallelujah, claiming air into his lungs, and his brain lobes go untouched.’
In the most recent update from yesterday, Bethany wrote they were looking for a doctor who specializes in the hyperbaric chamber at Queens or Kuakini in Oahu and if anyone knew any information to reach out.
