By Emily Drooby
Jayden Hardowar was met with cheers of joy as he left the hospital on Tuesday, May 12. It was a miracle, because just two weeks prior, the eight-year-old boy’s heart had stopped beating.
Jayden’s father, Roup, recalled that terrifying moment.
“He wasn’t breathing anymore,” he said.
Jayden was sick, suffering from a mysterious illness that targets children, which is currently being refer to as “pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome.” No one knows for sure, but medical professional believe it is likely linked to COVID-19.
Roup said Jayden’s life was on the line.
“Me and my older son rushed into the room and checked for a pulse, there was no pulse,” he explained.
Roup and his other son Tyron were terrified, but Tyron sprang into action.
“I thought he was dead to be honest, and I didn’t want him to die so I had to save him,” Tyron said.
Tyron is a Boy Scout with troop 177 out of Holy Child Jesus Church In Richmond Hill, Queens. With the group, he had recently learned CPR, and so he performed it on his brother.
“The Scout motto was be prepared, and I was prepared for life,” said Tyron.
Roup says that his son’s quick thinking likely saved Jayden’s life.
“It did a miracle here,” he said. “Without the CPR, he would have had some sort of brain damage, which the doctors found out there was none of that right now.”
Help arrived quickly. Firefighter Tom Gonzalez was shocked Jayden’s heart back into rhythm.
Gonzalez explained that after months of fighting COVID-19 on the frontlines, it was amazing to see Jayden’s heart start again.
“After all the cardiac arrests we have been through in the past few months, it’s a great thing to see to be able to help this kid out.”
New York is investigating 102 cases of this dangerous pediatric disease which causes extreme inflammation in important organs. So far three deaths in the state have been linked to it.
Jayden spent two weeks fighting for his life in the hospital. He is now home with his family, but he has a long road to recovery ahead of him. Jayden is a Cub Scout with Pack 177. The rest of his pack-mates made a get-well video for him.