A little boy went into cardiac arrest on a ride at Disney World and his mum was forced to hold his limp body until they could get off.
The family trip to Walt Disney World in Florida turned into horror when Ernesto Tagle, 5, stopped breathing around 20 seconds after getting onto the Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind ride – an enclosed rollercoaster which lasts nearly three minutes.
Ernesto’s parents feared for their son’s life as they were forced to hold his body up from the seats behind, desperately trying to find a pulse, according to local reports.
“I was screaming, hitting him, and saying something’s wrong,” Christine Tagle, the boy’s mum, told Fox 35 of the tragic incident on September 21.
The Tagle family are Disney passholders and they believed it was just another normal day at the theme park as they hopped onto one of Ernesto’s “favourite” rides.
Christine was sitting behind her son on the ride when he passed out and she was forced to perform CPR on Ernesto once the 60mph coaster finished.
Thankfully a nurse and EMT happened to be passing and helped stabilise the boy, while a Disney employee provided an automated external defibrillator to revive the boy’s heart before he was rushed to the hospital via helicopter.
Ernesto had many tests across three different hospitals and was finally diagnosed with catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (CPVT) – a rare heart condition that can flare up during periods of extreme excitement or activity, according to the boy’s father, Ernesto Tagle, in an Instagram post.
The family shared photos of an unconscious Ernesto in the hospital wearing a neck brace, and surrounded by medical equipment and tubes before undergoing surgery.
The little boy’s dad added Ernesto was now recovering with no signs of brain or heart damage after doctors placed a device in his chest that treats life-threatening heart arrhythmias and sudden cardiac arrest.
He added his son was a “warrior” and that he is now at home recovering. He shared photo of healthy-looking Ernesto in the post.
“We just feel so lucky this didn’t rob us of his smile and energy,” mum Christine told Fox 35 as she thanked the people who helped her son at Disney World.
