texas

Garland Boy's Brush With Death and Miraculous Comeback

Another Texas summer and another season of hot car deaths.

According to the Department of Meteorology and Climate Science at San Jose State University, six Texas children have died inside hot cars this year.

For the children who survive time in a hot car, the road to recovery is a difficult one. 

Eric Stuyvesant accidental left his three-year-old son Michael in the back seat of the car for a little more than an hour last summer.

Michael suffered six strokes in different areas of the brain when his body temperature soared to 105 degrees while inside the hot car.

While his comeback hasn't been easy, doctors say Michael's progress has been miraculous. 

After the incident, Michael spent 28 days at Our Children's House, now part of Children's Health.

"When Michael first came to us, he was not able to sit up on his own. He had difficulty holding his head up. He had difficulty using his hands, his legs, eating by himself and problems with his vision," said Rajashree Srinivasan, MD, Chief of Service at Our Children's House. 

Eric and Michelle Stuyvesant said doctors wouldn't be able to tell the amount of damage done until after Michael was brought out of an induced coma four days after the accident.

"It was all just wait and see. We went day to day," said Michelle.

"The last time I counted, he was on 947 prayer requests around the world. There was a lot of intervention going on on our behalf," said Eric.

"I had a child that was blind, that was crying and didn't know how to regulate himself. His motor skills weren't great, but I could see enough in him that I was pretty confident he could get back to walking," said Dan Swan, therapy team lead.

The therapy team worked extensively with Michael and in just a few days, Michael took his first steps.

"I was crying. That was a wonderful moment that was the beginning of a magical 28 days here, watching Michael bounce back from the doorstep of death," Eric said.

Michael learned how to walk, talk, drink and eat again.  

His speech is delayed, but doctors expect Michael to make a full recovery within two years.

"I know that I live with the fact that I made a mistake, and I also live with the fact that we have been forgiven for that mistake and he's made a complete comeback," said Eric.

The Stuyvesants were cleared of any criminal wrongdoing after a lengthy investigation.

They're working with the auto industry to come up with technological solutions to help solve the problem of pediatric heatstrokes in cars.

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