A five-year-old boy is being hailed as a hero after surviving a life-threatening rescue of his younger brother from a frozen creek on Easter Sunday. Ashkan Thibodeaux, who suffered severe organ damage and neurological trauma, is now breathing on his own at a Minneapolis children’s hospital.
The incident occurred on April 5 when Ashkan’s younger brother, Wyatt, fell into icy waters while the siblings were exploring near their Itasca County home. According to family reports and emergency records, Ashkan immediately entered the water, successfully guiding Wyatt to safety before being overcome by the conditions himself.
First responders, including Itasca County Sheriff’s deputies and local fire crews, performed continuous CPR on the five-year-old for six hours during his transport to specialized care. Upon arrival at the hospital, medical teams placed Ashkan on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO)—a high-level life support system that functions as an external heart and lungs for patients with life-threatening cardiac or pulmonary failure…