4-year-old Eli is back home recovering after nearly drowning in Minneapolis pond

Eli Steinbach, age 4, is home again with his mom and dad and four siblings after nearly drowning four weeks ago when he fell through the ice while exploring a pond near his Minneapolis home.

Eli had been underwater for about five minutes when a Minneapolis police officer charged into waist-deep water to pull him out, said his mother, Caitlyn Shields. Rescuers performed CPR on him for 30 minutes before his heart restarted.

Doctors and nurses at HCMC eased Eli's recovery as he started eating and talking again, Shields said.

"It was terrifying," she said, recalling the moment she looked out the living room window and saw her son's bright green jacket lying on the pond's thin ice. She realized immediately what had happened and called 911.

Eli, a high-functioning autistic child, had slipped out of the house before, and the family had recently installed new locks at their home in the Bryn Mawr neighborhood. Shields said she put him down for a nap on Nov. 26 along with his 2-year-old brother, Remi, before going to another room to change baby Daniel's diaper.

A few minutes later, Shields said, she realized the house felt too quiet. Eli and Remi had snuck out and quickly made their way across the street to Bryn Mawr Meadows Park, where earlier this year the city installed two stormwater retention ponds near the intersection of Laurel and Morgan avenues. The ponds sit just across the street from the family's home.

After Shields called 911, she raced to the pond.

Remi, still on the ice, was coaxed back to shore by his 6-year-old sister, Penelope, who stayed calm so he wouldn't get excited and break through the ice, Shields said.

Minneapolis police officers quickly arrived and drove across the grass to the pond's edge, Shields said. An officer then plunged into the pond, crashing through the thin ice to get to Eli and pull him out.

A firefighter kept chest compressions going for up to 30 minutes before Eli's heart restarted, Shields said. She's still hoping to learn the names of everyone involved in the rescue of her son.

Eli's recovery at HCMC was no less dramatic. He required a ventilator and was put into a medically induced coma when he arrived, then spent weeks returning to his usual self. He sometimes has seizures, but doctors have told Shields they're related to the traumatic brain injury he suffered.

When he resumed drinking liquids, he graduated to eating solid foods the same day. He continues to receive physical, speech and occupational therapy, said Shields, who praised the staff at HCMC.

There is an online fundraiser to help with mounting medical costs that were made less bearable when Shields stopped working to care for Eli. They're also dealing with a major water-pipe break at home that flooded their basement, destroying several items of value.

"We had to be at the hospital nonstop," Shields said. "Plus, I didn't want to be anywhere else."

She said she doesn't know why the ponds weren't enclosed by fencing, but the family has retained a lawyer. While a Minneapolis police officer often gets stationed near the ponds to keep people away, she said she's twice seen people go out on the ponds attempting to ice skate.

Eli, meanwhile, is back at home enjoying his trucks and dinosaurs. He's a big fan of Blippi and Bluey on YouTube, and is mostly just "an exuberant boy," his mother said.

Shields said she and her husband, Joe Steinbach, have the kids all back together again now that Eli has returned from the hospital.