After spending two hours performing CPR on 16-year-old Sammy Berko, doctors declared that the teen was dead. Then, he surprised his mother.
“I started talking to him, just telling him how much I love him and sorry that we didn’t know how to save him. Suddenly, as I started praying, my husband said, ‘oh my gosh, he’s moving,’” said Jennifer Berko, according to Fox 26.
Sammy Berko, of Missouri City, Texas, had just rung the bell at the top of a climbing wall at a rock-climbing gym in his area when his body went limp.
“It looked like he was either playing around or passed out,” his mother explained. “They weren’t quite sure and when they realized he was unresponsive, they lowered him slowly.”
Medical professionals determined that the teen had gone into cardiac arrest.
“These are professionals who have been doing this their entire lives, who have seen the worst of the worst. Each and every one of them afterward came to us and said that they have never seen anything like this before,” Jennifer said. “Ever. Never had they ever pronounced somebody and suddenly they came back five minutes later. That feeling of seeing his heartbeat, there are no words for that. There are no words. We just stood there. I mean, grateful is the biggest understatement ever to know that he might make it.”
However, their challenges were not over. Since Berko went for some time without oxygen to his brain, doctors were afraid that he might have a “catastrophic brain injury,” which is defined as “any brain injury that is expected to result in permanent loss of all brain function above the brain stem level,” per a 2018 article in the Military Medicine journal.
Luckily, Berko had only short-term memory loss from the ordeal, though he could only remember seconds at a time for several weeks. This has improved with time.
“I don't remember anything about the day it happened,” he said, according to Fox 26. “The last thing I remember is the night before we had to sign waivers online (for the rock climbing gym), and then I woke up, not even in the pediatric ICU. I woke up in the transitional ICU and that's the first thing I remember. Then I remember my dad telling me, this is what happened and you better remember this time, because he said it so many times.”
Berko ended up spending around one month recovering in the hospital.
For the past two months, he has been in inpatient rehabilitation at TIRR Memorial Hermann.
“I was very struck by his story. It’s very gripping and very unusual. That only young man you know, who had this Catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (CPVT), which is a super rare genetic disorder that affects his heart,” said Dr. Stacey Hall, medical director of the Pediatric Rehabilitation Program at TIRR Memorial Hermann.
According to the National Library of Medicine, CPVT “is a condition characterized by an abnormal heart rhythm,” and the heart rate of people who have it can increase abnormally in response to physical activity or emotional stress. This is called ventricular tachycardia.
“Episodes of ventricular tachycardia can cause light-headedness, dizziness, and fainting (syncope). In people with CPVT, these episodes typically begin in childhood,” said the library.
If the condition isn’t diagnosed and treated, it can cause the heart to stop beating and sudden death.
“Researchers suspect that CPVT may be a significant cause of sudden death in children and young adults without recognized heart abnormalities,” the library explained.
Jennifer and Craig Berko lost their other son, Frankie, three years ago. Leading up to a seizure that claimed his life, Frankie Berko had been suffering from seizures and experienced multiple traumatic brain injuries. He even survived a seizure at the top of a high diving board that resulted in him falling 10 feet and hitting his head.
Through DNA studies, the family found out that both boys and their mother have a genetic mutation. Jennifer Berko said she had no idea that she carried it.
“Sammy underwent a procedure to help resolve the problem, and he and his mom will be on several medications for life to help prevent cardiac arrest,” said Fox 26. “While it happened to both boys near their sixteenth birthdays, Jennifer has never had a symptom but is being closely monitored.”
In addition to the heart condition, Sammy Berko suffered from an ischemic spine injury.
“He did have an upper thoracic spinal cord injury, so he is working on strengthening his core, strengthening his legs,” said Hall. “He’s working on everyday things like transferring, putting clothes on, he is working on walking, and he truly has made remarkable progress.”
“I knew it would be a weird, crazy experience learning to walk again and working on strength without using my legs to be able to balance me,” said the teen. “It has just been an amazing experience here actually, like I've noticed that I'm better every day – I’m doing something new every single day,”
As of last week, the family is preparing their home for a wheelchair.
“Jennifer says she is hoping for a call to action for more genetic testing at birth to let people know about medical problems, like the ones she and her sons were diagnosed with later in life,” said Fox 26. “So far, their medical insurance has helped cover the costs, but it only allows a few more therapy sessions, and Sammy is expected to need years of therapy, so the family has set up a GoFundMe account.”
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