Miraculous tale of four-year-old boy whose heart stopped beating for 19 hours - but SURVIVED

A four-year-old boy 'miraculously' survived after his heart stopped beating for 19 hours and his family gathered to say goodbye. 

Cartier McDaniel, from Denver, fell ill on April 8 and was rushed to the Children's Hospital Colorado after his condition worsened. 

Doctors told his family that he had gone into cardiac arrest and his heart had stopped, and he was placed on life support. 

For 19 hours, doctors tried everything to bring him back, but they told his parents the outlook wasn't good and the extended family gathered to say goodbye. 

Then, his heart started beating again. Doctors reportedly said they had no medical explanation for how it happened, but Cartier's father, Dominique, told NBC News: 'It was God.' 

Cartier McDaniel, from Denver, fell ill on April 8 and was rushed to hospital after his condition worsened

Doctors told his family that he had gone into cardiac arrest and his heart had stopped, so they placed him on life support

Cartier's mother, Destiny Anderson, told NBC News the moment doctors told her the prognosis was bad was 'the worst moment of my life.' 

She added: 'The whole hospital room was spinning. I was shaking. I couldn't believe it was happening.'

Doctors frantically tried CPR and when that didn't work, they placed him on a form of life support where blood is pumped through and oxygenated by an artificial lung. 

For 19 hours, they assessed how badly damaged his other organs would be by the lack of oxygen and tried to restart his heart. 

Anderson said, 'At that point, we're just praying for the best. He was on life support but it was only a matter of time before the machine stopped working.'

His family gathered at the hospital to pray and say goodbye, sleeping outside of his room. 

Anderson said, 'I'm not going to lie, I did have doubts that everything was going to be OK. I'm human. I'm thinking, "How am I going to tell my kids I'm not bringing their brother home?"

'I was trying to make peace that this may be what God wants.'

For 19 hours, Cartier's family assessed how badly damaged his other organs would be by the lack of oxygen and tried to restart his heart

Anderson said, 'I'm not going to lie, I did have doubts that everything was going to be OK. I'm human. I'm thinking, "How am I going to tell my kids I'm not bringing their brother home?"

Then - apparently for no foreseeable reason - his heart started beating again. 

His long term prognosis is unclear as he was without oxygen for so long and he suffers from unknown brain damage. 

It is not yet known how long he will need to be in hospital, or what the long term health effects may be. 

His family said the cardiac arrest was triggered by a group A Streptococcus infection, which then led to sepsis. 

The details of his infection are not yet known.