I've responded to thousands of medical calls and I know even a 3 minute response can feel like 10 minutes to someone waiting for help. Doing CPR and waiting as long as Mr. Lutz did must have seemed like an eternity. He was doing some good CPR considering the victim got a cardiac rhythm back after being down for so long.
Cold water drownings are much more survivable than other drownings, younger patients have been revived after being submerged for over an hour.
Anybody who is hypothermic and still alive is very susceptible to cardiac arrest if they are jostled around. Nice and easy is paramount when dealing with a prolonged cold water submersion or any hypothermic patient.
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