Una Estrella: Lodi toddler survives after being pronounced dead from drowning incident

Apr. 28—A Lodi family is calling their toddler's survival from an Ash Wednesday backyard accident nothing less than a miracle performed by God.

Pablo and Magali Lorenzi took their children to a lunch mass on Feb. 27, and then let them all play outside when they returned home.

"Our oldest (12) wanted to take Sofia out to play, and we said yes," Pablo Lorenzi said. "We usually don't let Sofia go outside to play with the other kids, but our oldest insisted, and we told them to make sure they kept an eye on her."

About 30 minutes later, Lorenzi went to check on the children, but didn't see Sofia. He said that's when panic kicked in.

The family searched the entire property, and Lorenzi believes the gate to the pool must have been left open, because 19-month-old Sofia was found her under water in the hot tub.

He thinks she was there for about 15 minutes.

Lorenzi pulled Sofia from the water and began screaming for help. His wife called 9-1-1 and he began CPR while the paramedics were en route.

Sofia was given four shots of epinephrine at the house and another 15 when she arrived at Adventist Health Lodi Memorial.

Lorenzi said Sofia endured about 100 minutes of CPR before doctors said there was nothing more they could do.

"Lodi Memorial worked really hard with Sofia," Lorenzi said. "They did everything they could to bring her back. They were in constant contact with UC Davis for tips because she wasn't coming back."

At 5:47 p.m., Sofia was declared dead, and attending staff left the room, leaving Lorenzi, his wife and their 4-year-old alone.

"We just kept hugging her, praying, asking the Lord for mercy to bring her back," Lorenzi said. "And then 18 minutes later, a nurse came back in the room with chairs, and she gets near Sofia, and saw that her chest was moving. Everyone came back in, and doctors hooked her back up to the machines."

It was decided Sofia would be transported to UCSF for intensive care, and requested an airlift to get her there as quickly as possible.

But Lorenzi said the first helicopter was canceled because it was not designed to transport children. A second helicopter was dispatched, but bu 11 p.m., UCSF told Lodi Memorial it was too windy in San Francisco to fly.

At 11:30 p.m., Lorenzi, his wife and Sofia rode an ambulance to UCSF. Staff there began treating her at 2 a.m.

"Just before we left, Lodi doctors said UCSF didn't think they would be much help," Lorenzi said. "But we knew once she came back, she was going to fight all the way."

On Sofia's fifth day at the UCSF intensive care unit, she underwent an MRI to see if any of her organs were damaged.

The results showed her brain stem was still intact, and Lorenzi said doctors immediately extubated her.

Sofia spent 57 days at UCSF before she was discharged and transferred to a hospital in New Orleans, La., for hyperbaric oxygen therapy

According to the Mayo Clinic, hyperbaric oxygen therapy involves breathing pure oxygen in a pressurized environment.

In a hyperbaric oxygen therapy chamber, the air pressure is increased to-to-three times higher than normal air pressure.

This way, the clinic said, the lungs can gather much more oxygen than would be possible breathing pure oxygen at normal air pressure.

The extra oxygen helps fight bacteria, and also triggers the release of substances called growth factors and stem cells, which promote healing, the clinic said.

The long-term effects of the ordeal, such as whether Sofia suffered brain damage, are unknown. The Hyperbaric oxygen treatment is meant to help on that front.

One of the nurses who treated Sofia at Lodi Memorial wrote in a letter to the family that it "was the first true medical miracle I have ever witnessed in my career and it brings me hope!"

Dr. April Edwell treated Sofia at UCSF and wrote the toddler a letter, calling her "una estrella," meaning star, because of her ability to fight back from a "precarious" situation.

"When I reached out to touch your leg and begin my exam, you moved your legs and your eyes," Edwell wrote. "I was shocked. I was so worried you wouldn't be able to do any of it. And there you were, wiggling under the blanket. Blinking your eyes. We got an MRI, and it was the same. I expected only devastation and ruin, and that's not what we saw."

The Lorenzi family is currently in New Orleans, and will most likely be there for two months before Sofia is transferred to a hospital in Texas for more specialized care.

"We've promised we will not go home until she's walking and dancing again," Lorenzi said. "She's finally awake, and she's smiling as well. She tracks us with her eyes, so she can see us."

He is hoping Sofia will be able to come home to Lodi by the summer, so he can coach his children in BOBS soccer. something the family enjoys each year.

As of right now, the family is wondering how to pay for Sofia's treatment, which is coming out of their pockets.

Lorenzi began a GoFundMe page to raise $50,000 for expenses. As of Thursday, some $22,478 had been raised,

"It was devastating at first," Lorenzi said. "Those first two hours in Lodi were the worst, because you're just numb. We didn't know what to expect. I just want people to never lose hope, even when doctors say there's nothing else that can be done. Never lose hope."

To donate to the Lorenzi family, visit tinyurl.com/SofiaLorenziLodi.