After undergoing a series of oxygen treatments, a toddler who suffered severe brain injury after falling into her family’s pool has made a significant recovery, with her mother reporting that she is “near normal” more than a year later.

Eden Carlson nearly drowned in the swimming pool at her Fayetteville, Arkansas, home in early 2016. Her mother discovered her lifeless body 15 minutes later, with no pulse and no ability to breathe. She performed CPR frantically until emergency personnel came, and Eden was transported to a nearby hospital so doctors could take over.

Two hours later, Eden – who had also suffered a cardiac arrest – was revived. But the near-drowning had left her unable to speak, walk, or respond in any meaningful way. A month and a half later, she was discharged from the hospital and began the lengthy process of rehabilitation to try to repair some of the damaged tissue in her still-developing brain.

The doctors, on the other hand, took their time. Eden was given oxygen at sea level air pressure twice a day for 45 minutes each. She eventually regained movement in her arms and hands, and she was able to communicate and even laugh once again.

She was subsequently transferred to LSU Health New Orleans, where she received oxygen for the second time – pure oxygen at a higher-than-normal pressure – in a process known as hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Many doctors are still skeptical about the treatment because it is not covered by insurance.

But Dr. Paul Harch, a hyperbaric specialist with LSU Health New Orleans, says the procedure reduced brain swelling, reinvigorated her surviving brain cells and allowed oxygen-enhanced blood to help repair the brain tissue before long-term damage set in.

After only ten sessions, her mother stated that she was “near normal,” walking and talking better than before the accident. Furthermore, her neurological, cognition, and other testing revealed remarkable improvement.

MRI scans taken soon after the accident revealed that her brain had begun to shrink, but a later scan revealed that her brain “had almost completely re-grown,” according to Harch, who oversaw Eden’s treatment.

That’s rare, but “you have a growing child, a hormone-rich brain and stimulation in this setting. And the result is that we were able to demonstrate an obvious and large re-growth of brain tissue that is inarguably the result of this therapy.”

Watch the video below to hear more about Eden’s incredible recovery, and share to spread amazement and hope!