Interview: The miracle brothers who survived near-drowning
The boys with their parents yesterday. mbl.is/Rax
Brothers Einar Árni and Hilmir Gauti Bjarnason are true miracle boys. On April 14th they almost drowned in the Reykdalsstífla dam in Hafnarfjörður, a town forming part of greater Reykjavik. Today, only one week after an accident which at first looked to be a complete tragedy. Mbl.is journalist Ingileif Friðriksdóttir met them at the Hringur children's hospital where they were dashing down the corridors.
"We never dared to hope for this outcome. It's a true miracle," says their father Bjarni Einarsson as he sits down for an interview. It's been only four days since nine year-old Hilmir Gauti woke up. He had been kept under in a respirator since the accident occurred. Einar Árni, aged twelve, was also in grave danger but regained consciousness quickly when CPR was administrated.
The family, originally from the south peninsula live in Tálknafjörður in the West Fjords. They had spent their Easter holidays in Hafnarfjörður, with Bjarni leaving for Tálknafjörður on Monday and his wife remaining for a few additional days with the children at their grandmother's residence in Hafnarfjörður.
"They're both dead"
The brothers had been playing with their eleven year-old sister Kristjana Júlia when the accident happened. They'd been trying to fetch a ball from the dam when they fell into the water. Kristjana Júlia called their mother who immediately called emergency services, and that's when Bjarni received the worst phonecall of his life.
"My wife called me and told me that both our boys had drowned. That's the first information that I got. She was standing over them on the riverbank, and told me they were dead. It was incredibly difficult," he explains. Soon, he received more detailed information and was told that the older boy was alive and breathing by himself. "That was a great relief," he says and explains that he immediately headed back to the capital when he heard the news and was driven to Hafnarfjörður in a police vehicle. He explains how incredibly defenseless he felt, and helpless at not being at the scene of the accident." The shock when I arrived was immense. Einar Árni had regained consciousness but Hilmir Gauti was unconcious and we had to endure a time of waiting to see what would happen to him." He tells of the relief when they heard the news that Hilmir Gauti's heart had started beating by itself. Hilmir Gauti's body was cooled down to prevent brain damage from the cardiac arrest.
A difficult time of waiting
"Our little boy is a great bundle of energy and we've never been particularly grateful for the endless limits to his energy. But now we are, his energy probably saved him." The family had no idea whether Hilmir Gauti had suffered brain damage or to what extent following the accident. When his body went back to its normal temperature and he was brought back to consciousness, they didn't know what to expect. "We knew that when he woke up, he might be a different boy," Bjarni explains. But soon, Hilmir Gauti started answering all questions posed to him. "He's not talking a lot and he's very tired but we can't see any sign of damage at this stage. It's something that we hadn't even dared to hope for. "
A life-changing experience
Hilmar Gauti can't remember anything from the day of the accident and maybe those memories will never come back. His siblings, however, remember everything. "It's ingrained in their memories and it's been really difficult for them," explains Bjarni.
The family want to extend their heartfelt thanks to all those who aided in the rescue, including a twenty-five year old man who himself fell into the waterfall and endangered his life, and a sixteen year-old girl who helped their mother pull Einar Árni up to the riverbank and then did her best at calming down their sister who was hysterical.
The accident touched the nation and the families received overwhelming support. "We can't thank people enough. It brought us so much strength." The family stress their endless thanks to the rescue team, the police, medical staff, doctors and all those who helped to give their boys a second chance at life. "This kind of accident changes your life. It changes your whole way of thinking. You start to look inside and at the things that really matter. That's what I'm experiencing right now. "
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