Icy Water of Lake Credited With Recovery : Boy Near Normal Now After ‘Drowning’

The first signs were dismal. No heartbeat. No pulse. After 20 minutes under water in an icy lake, the boy was technically dead.

But now, one year after nearly drowning in a sledding accident, Jimmy Tontlewicz has made giant strides on the road to recovery.

He attends kindergarten. He has taken swimming lessons. And he is undergoing therapy for a speech problem that resulted from his near tragedy.

Today, Jimmy Tontlewicz, whose struggle for survival captivated the nation, is an active--in fact, a little too active--5 1/2-year-old.

Watching over Jimmy is “like taking care of five kids,” said his 30-year-old mother, Kathy.

In many ways, Jimmy’s progress since Jan. 15, 1984--the day he was pulled unconscious from the 32-degree waters of Lake Michigan--is nothing short of miraculous.

“It’s like God had him in his hands,” said his father, Terrence, who was with Jimmy on the sledding outing and made a futile attempt to rescue him. “People wanted a miracle and it happened.”

Indeed, Jimmy’s plight touched people all over America. Many sent flowers, gifts, even bubble gum. Some lit candles. Others donated money.

Of $200,000 raised in funds set up by the Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago Tribune, about $175,000 was spent on medical bills, said Kenneth Ditkowsky, an attorney for Jimmy’s mother.

“People have really laid out their heart to this kid,” Ditkowksy said.

But in other ways, the last year has been troubled for Jimmy and his parents, who were separated at the time of the accident and are now getting divorced.

Jimmy’s mother is on welfare, and she says it has been “real rough” making ends meet and coping with hours of uncertainty, weeks of hospital vigils and months of therapy.

“He had to learn how to do everything over again,” she said. “He had to learn how to eat . . . to talk . . . and walk. He was like a baby.”

Jimmy has made a complete physical recovery, doctors say, but he is hyperactive and has learning disabilities, although it’s not clear whether those problems are related to the accident.

The doctors “are certainly satisfied with his recovery and they’re hopeful with the appropriate environment to learn in, he’ll overcome his learning disabilities,” said Jane Crowley, a spokeswoman at Children’s Memorial Hospital, where the boy has been treated.

And the hard work needed to reach that goal has begun. His mother says Jimmy will be entering classes for those with learning disabilities.

Jimmy’s mother said that at times, Jimmy has a very short attention span and cannot sit still long enough to finish dinner, which she must help him with.

But at other times, she said, Jimmy “runs through the house like a normal kid. He gets into trouble like a normal kid. And he plays like a normal kid.”

Jimmy’s brush with death, his mother added, has not made him fearful of water and he took swimming lessons last year.

Jimmy’s nightmare began on a Sunday afternoon when he fell into the ice-covered lake while trying to retrieve a sled that had slipped down an embankment.

His father jumped in to rescue him but blacked out. The last words he heard were, “Save me, Dad.” Tontlewicz was pulled from the water by firefighters and citizens, including a television crew working nearby.

When Jimmy was plucked from the lake after being submerged 20 minutes, he had no heartbeat or pulse. Technically, he was dead.

But Jimmy had a lot working in his favor--particularly, the cold water, which may have given him a second chance at life.

Scientists say a biological phenomenon called the mammalian diving reflex, triggered by the shock of cold water, enables humans--like whales and seals--to live without breathing for longer than normal.

When he was first hospitalized, doctors placed Jimmy in a drug-induced coma to control his brain activity.

Slowly, he came around. Within days he moved his arms and legs. Then he awoke. He began talking. And after three months of hospitalization and therapy, he went home.

“He’s a tough guy,” his 36-year-old father said. “I taught him to be tough. That had a lot to do with saving his life.”