‘Miracle #2’: Michigan Toddler Survives After 11 Minutes Underwater and 52 Minutes of CPR

A 1-year-old boy was underwater for an estimated 11 minutes after his mother suffered what the family now believes was a seizure and drove into a pond.

First responders performed CPR on little Weston for 52 minutes before they finally got a pulse back.

Now his family says doctors have delivered the news they have been praying for: Weston is going to survive.

His mom, Carissa, was driving with him Monday afternoon in Grand Traverse County when the vehicle left the road and entered the water. A first responder jumped into the pond, broke into the vehicle, and pulled Carissa out. Once rescuers realized Weston was still inside, they went back for him.

The family says he had been submerged for about 11 minutes. Then came 52 minutes of CPR.

“Miracle #1,” they wrote. “They got his pulse back.”

Weston was airlifted to a Michigan children’s hospital with life-threatening injuries. Carissa was taken to another hospital and later transferred so she could be closer to her son.

On Wednesday morning, Carissa suffered another seizure while hospitalized. Her family says that terrifying moment helped doctors confirm what likely caused the crash. She was released Thursday and has been able to stay at Weston’s bedside with her husband, Bryce.

Then the family met with Weston’s neurology team. They were told he is going to survive.

“Miracle #2.”

That does not mean this little boy’s fight is over. His family says Weston could face many months — possibly more than a year — in the hospital. There are still major unknowns about his recovery and how his brain and body will heal after everything he endured.

But after days of not knowing whether they would ever bring their son home again, Carissa and Bryce now have something they were desperate to hear: someday, they believe they will all leave that hospital together.

They credit the first responders and medical teams who fought for both mother and son. They say the prayers coming from friends, family, coworkers, and complete strangers have carried them through the darkest days of their lives.

They are asking everyone not to stop now.

“We prayed for a pulse, and we got one. We prayed for our little man to survive, and today we were told that he will. Now we pray for recovery.”

Please help them pray for Miracle #3.
Pray for Weston’s brain to heal.
Pray for his little body to keep getting stronger.
Pray for Carissa as doctors continue working to understand and treat the seizures she has experienced.
And pray for Carissa and Bryce as they stand beside their 1-year-old through what could be a very long recovery.

Sources: Family statements from Bryce and Carissa Thelen; Grand Traverse County rescue and local reporting from UpNorthLive / WPBN on the Bunker Hill Road pond crash in Acme Township, Michigan, September 2026. Weston was airlifted to Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital in Grand Rapids.