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SALT LAKE CITY — A Wisconsin boy visiting Capitol Reef National Park nearly drown in a waterfall Monday. Instead, he's headed home with his family after being brought back to life by a highly trained Utah couple.
Cody Gundstrom's mother says five moons and five stars had to align for each miracle to take place for her son to be alive today. The 6-year-old is now happy, healthy and headed home from the hospital after a harrowing tumble into Fremont Falls.
"A child did drown right in front of our eyes. It was incredible. It was surreal," recalled Talli Torgersen, an ER nurse at Primary Children's Medical Center.
On June 20, Cody visited the Capitol Reef falls with his 10-year-old sister, Madison, and a family friend while his parents ran errands in town. When the parents arrived, his father could tell by the look on Madison's face that Cody was missing.
The family called for the boy and soon figured he must be under the falls.
"They had a couple of individuals diving into the area," said Capt. Jay Torgersen, of the Unified Fire Authority. He and his wife, Talli, also happened to be at the falls with their kids.
Within a few minutes of searching, Cody's father pulled him from the raging water.
To see the dad, this desperate dad, scoop up his gray, limp, lifeless body was unbelievable.
–Talli Torgersen, rescuer
"To see the dad, this desperate dad, scoop up his gray, limp, lifeless body was unbelievable," Talli said. The Torgersens started CPR.
Along with being a captain with the Unified Fire Authority, Jay heads up the swiftwater rescue team. KSL News as talked with him several times this spring about exactly this kind of accident.
"When I'm called out at work, I have time to think about things and kind of formulate what I'm going to do in my head," Jay said. "This happened right in front of us."
He and Talli were definitely the right people, in the right place, at the right time.
"The whole time I felt outside of myself thinking, ‘I can't believe I'm doing this,' Talli said. "Everybody was so focused."
They estimate the boy was in the water anywhere from three to five minutes.
"Any person who was there would have done the same exact thing as we did," Talli said.
After compressions and assisted breathing, Cody came back to life. The Torgersens say it took teamwork and good timing to save the 6-year-old.
"We've had thousands of hours of training and years of experience, and we were able to utilize that to hopefully make a difference in this family's life," Jay said.
The Grundstrom family expressed their gratitude to Jay and Talli. They planned a quick reunion Thursday night before going home.
E-mail: jboal@ksl.com
