Frozen Solid at 3 Years Old: The Christmas Eve Miracle That Stumped Medicine

When three-year-old Brittany Eichelberger slipped out of her family's trailer in Elkins, West Virginia on Christmas Eve 1990, no one knew she was gone. She was found hours later, clinically dead in the snow — frozen stiff, her heart stopped, her body nearly 25 degrees below normal temperature. A neighbor, a determined paramedic, and a rural hospital team that refused to quit launched one of the most extraordinary resuscitation efforts ever documented in emergency medicine. The cold that stopped her heart may also be the reason her brain survived. This is a story about what happens when everyone around you decides it isn't over yet. Listen AD FREE: Support our podcast at patreaon: http://patreon.com/TheCruxTrueSurvivalPodcast Email us! [email protected] Instagram https://www.instagram.com/thecruxpodcast/ Get schooled by Julie in outdoor wilderness medicine! https://www.headwatersfieldmedicine.com/ 00:00 Podcast Intro 00:29 Door Left Open 01:44 Meet Brittany 03:15 How She Wandered 04:34 Found In Snow 05:34 CPR In The Yard 08:32 Hospital Fight 10:16 Three Hour CPR 15:08 Flight To Pittsburgh 17:23 Waking Up Again 18:59 Why Cold Saved Her 20:00 Recovery After Discharge 22:03 Living With The Story 23:36 Honoring Rescuers 26:08 Lessons And Wrap Up 27:08 Outro And Reviews REFERENCES Associated Press. "Girl, 3, Found Clinically Dead in Snow, Is Revived." Los Angeles Times, December 28, 1990. Associated Press. "Clinically Dead Tot Who Was Found Frozen Is Revived." Deseret News, December 27, 1990. Gordon, Haley. "Woman Looks Back on 'Christmas Eve Miracle.'" The Intermountain, December 24, 2019. "Longtime Randolph County Coroner Dailey Passes at 68." The Intermountain, February 13, 2026. "Brenda Kay 'Bren' Dailey." Obituary. The Intermountain, February 14, 2026. "Snowgirl Save." Rescue 911, Season 3, 1991. Rescue 911 Wiki, Fandom. Dr. John Veach, Davis Memorial Hospital — quoted in AP wire reports, December 1990, and Rescue 911, 1991. Dr. Shekhar Venkataraman, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh — quoted in AP wire reports, December 1990. National Weather Service historical records for Elkins, WV, December 24, 1990 — referenced in The Intermountain, 2019. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.