Long Island 4-year-old saved after rare airway collapse due to laryngeal cleft

Long Island 4-year-old's mother rushes him to hospital, revived after cardiac arrest

Jack Harlan, a 4-year-old boy from Long Island, was struggling to breathe when his mother rushed him to Huntington Hospital.

NEW YORK - A Long Island mother is being credited with saving her son's life who was struggling to breathe. 

Maria Carlin's 4-year-old son Jack was struggling to breathe before he was rushed to Huntingong Hospital. 

Maria says "he was squeaking like a mouse--that's how little air he was getting," Then, suddenly, Jack stopped breathing completely. 

The mother of three says she heard Jack fall forward in his car seat at the time of the episode. 

What we know:

"We initially started compressions and within seconds the whole entire team was at the bedside," another said. As oxygen flowed, Jack’s mother pleaded from nearby, "Come on, Jack. Come on, Jack."

Laryngeal cleft

Doctors managed to stabilize the boy and quickly transferred him to Cohen Children’s Medical Center in New Hyde Park. There, specialists discovered a laryngeal cleft, an abnormal separation between the trachea and the esophagus. In Jack’s case, it was so severe it caused his airway to completely collapse.

He underwent surgery to correct the rare condition — a procedure that ultimately saved his life.

The next morning, as he woke up, Jack turned to his mother and asked, "Mommy, why didn’t you want me to go to heaven?"

For his family, that simple question was a painful reminder of how close they came to losing him.

Jack continues to check in with doctors a few times a year, but his prognosis is bright. His parents credit the medical team whose quick thinking and expertise gave their son a second chance.

"They did such an unbelievable job," Maria said.

And while Jack may not fully understand what happened just yet, one day he’ll realize just how lucky he is.