Family reunited with doctors that helped save young drowning victim

5-year-old Sophie Levitin nearly drowned at a friend's home in Fairview last summer.

Doctors said the fact she was able to walk out of Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt eight days later is nothing short of a miracle.

"I don't think doctors, nurses, ER staff, 911 dispatchers, paramedics, I don't think any of them realize the impact that they have on each and every case," Sophie's mom, Devorah, said.

What started as a day of fun on the water turned into a nightmare. Sophie was found unresponsive, face-up in a foot of water.

CPR was given until paramedics arrived.

"At that moment, I didn't think she'd be coming home," Devorah said. "Most cases do not turn out the way hers did."

Dr. Richard Wendorf was one of Sophie's doctors in the ICU.

"Words can't express how rewarding this is for us, and how motivating it is to continue to do what we do," Wendor said.

Vanderbilt doctors said Sophie is the first child to come to the ER in her condition and leave with a 100-percent chance of recovery.

"A lot of miracles happen in the ICU," Wendorf said. "The fact that she's doing so well after requiring CPR and not breathing at the pond where she was taken out of, I don't think 'miracle' is too strong of a word at all."

Sophie's doctors stressed that a child's survival rate improves significantly depending on how quickly chest compressions and CPR are administered following an accident.