Pictured: Miracle boy who came back from the dead 25 minutes after drowning in icy waters takes first steps to recovery

By Hannah Roberts
Updated:


He is the miracle boy who came back from the dead 25 minutes after drowning in icy waters.

And now brave Dale Ostrander is taking his first steps towards full recovery.

The 12-year-old's dramatic August 5 rescue made headlines across the nation.

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Miraculous recovery: Dale Ostrander is learning to walk and talk again

Miraculous recovery: Dale Ostrander is learning to walk and talk again

He was dragged out to sea by icy rip currents and was only rescued after 25 minutes under the freezing ocean waters.

The resilient youngster is still in hospital and is now having to undergo gruelling therapy to learn to walk, dress himself, and talk all over again.

Doctors believe that he's making remarkable progress.

Dr. John Benson, a specialist in physical medicine and rehabilitation at Good Samaritan Hospital, told ABC News : 'He has definitely surprised a lot of people.

'We've definitely noted progress since he's been here. And where he'll go from here, we don't know.'

Dale cannot speak properly yet but his parents say he definitely understands what he hears.

Almost lost: Dale was eventually pulled from the icy waters by rescue workers

Almost lost: Dale was eventually pulled from the icy waters by rescue workers

Dramatic recovery: His family say Dale understands everything and remembers a lot

Dramatic recovery: His family say Dale understands everything and remembers a lot

Chad Ostrander said: 'He gets frustrated because he can't communicate what he does hear and understand ... so even though it's, it's there,
I mean he's got memory --- he remembers his dog, Peanut, he remembers his sisters, he remembers movies that he's watched.'

'I can't wrap my mind around the fact that he's sitting here with us today. So from what God has done in our lives up to this point, I can put no limitations on what ... can happen from here on out.'

Dale was just wading when a powerful riptide tugged his feet out from under him and swept him away.

12-year-old Nicole Kissel heard him yelling for help and ignoring the pleas of her father to come ashore, used her board to swim into the churning waves and grab the struggling boy.

But the waves were too strong for the young pair and they were knocked off the board after which Dale did not surface.

Vital memories: Dale remembers his parents, his sisters and his dog

Vital memories: Dale remembers his parents, his sisters and his dog, Peanut

Carefree: Dale was a normal fun-loving 12-year-old before the accident

Carefree: Dale was a normal fun-loving 12-year-old before the accident

Surf rescuers struggled to find the boy who was wearing dark clothes, and his limp body was carried out of the water 25 minutes later.

Emergency responders performed CPR and started IV. At the hospital, Dale was placed in a medically induced coma. Four days later, he opened his eyes.

Experts believe his survival may have been due to the cold water.

Dr. Benjamin Abella, director of clinical research in the Center for Resuscitation Science at the University of Pennsylvania, said Ostrander's survival may be due to the fact that the waters in which he was submerged were sufficiently frigid-just 58F.

He said: 'A number of studies have shown that hypothermia -- reduced body temperature -- is highly protective of the brain when it is starved for oxygen and blood flow.'

'The water that bathed him was certainly quite cold, and it's likely that his core body temperature dropped during his cardiac arrest event.'


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