'They Brought Him Back To Life': 4-Year-Old Survives Cardiac Arrest In Huntington

HUNTINGTON, N.Y. — A 4-year-old Lloyd Harbor boy who went into cardiac arrest in the back seat of his mother’s car is alive today thanks to the rapid response of emergency staff at Northwell Health Huntington Hospital — and a rare diagnosis made hours later at Cohen Children’s Medical Center.

The dramatic case unfolded in the early hours of July 27, when the drive from Maria Carlin’s home to Huntington Hospital — normally about 10 minutes — became a race against time.

Maria’s four-year-old son, Jack, had woken up screaming and struggling to breathe. By the time she strapped him into his car seat and began driving, he suddenly slumped over and stopped responding. His skin began to turn a gray-blue.

A registered nurse herself, Maria knew how dangerous every passing second was. She considered pulling over to perform CPR on the dark, empty road. She weighed the risk of trying to dial 911 and perform compressions alone. Instead, she made a split-second decision she hoped would give him the best chance: she kept driving.

“I had to decide whether to pull over or keep going,” she said. “My nurse’s training told me he needed more than what I could do on the side of the road.”

Just before 1 a.m., she pulled into the emergency bay, slammed her horn, and ran inside carrying Jack’s limp body.

“I brought in a dead child,” she said. “And they brought him back to life.”

Inside the emergency department, the situation escalated instantly. There had been no call ahead, no time for the pediatric team to prepare for a respiratory and cardiac arrest.

“For them to have done everything they did within a matter of minutes… I hope people understand how remarkable that was,” Maria said.

Emergency nurse Marisa Kelleher, who ended up taking primary responsibility, remembers hearing the triage nurse call out, “Marisa, this is your patient. It’s a pediatric arrest.” She immediately activated a pediatric code — a rare and high-stakes emergency that draws the entire team.

Within moments, the trauma room filled with staff. Kelleher said IV access was achieved “quicker than I’ve ever seen” while others began chest compressions and medication preparation. Everyone, she said, fell into a role “immediately.”

Nurse Jenna Ciaccio sprinted toward the commotion, encountering Maria halfway down the hall and running with her toward the trauma bay.

“It was within seconds that the entire team was there,” Ciaccio said. “This is something we train for, but you rely on instinct and let your emotions take a back seat.”

Emergency physician Dr. Jennifer Gibb was examining another patient when she heard someone yell, "Pediatric code blue." She immediately ran toward the trauma room, calling for a Broselow tape — a critical tool for calculating pediatric medication doses — while an anesthesiologist who happened to be nearby joined the resuscitation effort. She administered medications, worked alongside respiratory therapists, and helped secure Jack’s airway.

All the while, she could hear Maria repeating, "Come on Jack, come on Jack." Then something shook her.

"My son’s name is Jack," she said. "After we got the pulse back and were getting him ready for intubation… it sent shivers down my spine."

Once stabilized, Jack was transferred to Cohen Children’s Medical Center, where pediatric ENT surgeon Dr. Lee Smith took over. By the time he met Jack, the child was already extubated and breathing on his own, but the question remained: what caused a healthy 4-year-old to stop breathing so suddenly?

“What we uncovered was a laryngeal cleft,” Smith said — a rare congenital opening between the voice box and esophagus that can allow liquid to enter the airway. The condition affects roughly one in 10,000 to 20,000 births, and symptoms often mimic far more common issues.

Most clefts present mildly, with recurring cough or trouble swallowing thin liquids. Jack’s, however, was “among the most severe I’ve ever seen. Certainly the most severe presentation I’ve ever seen,” Smith said.

A surgical repair was performed endoscopically — stitching the abnormal opening closed. Jack remained at Cohen briefly, then continued recovering at home.

“His recovery has been remarkable,” Smith said. “He’s breathing comfortably, eating well. His outcome shows what’s possible when emergency care, communication, and specialized follow-up care all come together.”

In the days after surgery, Jack shared something Maria will never forget.

“The next morning he woke up and said, ‘Mommy, why didn’t you want me to go to heaven?’” she recalled. “A four-year-old asking that… it made me think. He was not with me the whole night that this happened. He was headed somewhere else. And he was aware of it.”

Jack knows he had trouble breathing that night, but Maria said he will learn the full story “as he gets older, safely, and when he’s ready.”

For Maria, the experience reshaped how she views the hospital she passes daily.

“When people drive past Huntington Hospital on their way to work or dropping their kids off, I want them to think of Jack,” she said. “I want them to think of the staff and the incredible job they did bringing him back to life. We owe them everything.”

After reuniting with Northwell staff on Wednesday, the team surprised Jack — a devoted monster-truck fan — with tickets to Monster Jam this February at Belmont Park Arena. Then came another surprise: two Michelin-starred Northwell chefs offered to cook a meal for the Carlins at home so the family could spend more time together before the show. Months after the ordeal, Jack is fully recovered and back in school.

“He’s his normal, happy self,” Maria said. “He’s smiling. He gives his teachers hugs. He goes on the swings. He’s just a kid — and he’s back to living his life.”