Two young sisters whose lives were nearly ended after a terrifying drowning accident have been released from the hospital. Caitlin McKnight, the girls’ mother, told CBN, “Witnessing such a miracle is a blessing of faith. Medicine and therapy are the tools, but prayer and belief in God’s promise is the cure.” As CBN previously reported, Caitlin and Jacob McKnight were in Edmond, Oklahoma, where Jacob, a pharmacist, was attending meetings.
Jacob had just returned to his sister’s house, where they were staying when their 1-year-old daughter Elenor ran into the house. Caitlin followed after her, leaving the two older girls — 6-year-old Zoey and 4-year-old Callie — alone outside. In just a matter of minutes, the McKnights realized their daughters were missing. Soon after that, Jacob realized they were at the bottom of the deepest part of the pool, 10 feet below the water’s surface. Within a handful of minutes, Jacob successfully pulled the two unconscious girls from the pool, and he and Caitlin began performing CPR on them.
The rescue that ensued was miraculous. Jacob told Faithwire, “We believe God was there that day.” Caitlin added she doesn’t believe their daughters’ rescue would have been possible “if God were not there … filling me with [His] peace.” After Zoey and Callie were revived, they were taken to the hospital, where they remained for more than two weeks. Both girls needed assistance breathing for the first few days but began to recover — against medical predictions — at remarkable speeds. Even after the eldest daughter, Zoey, suffered a stroke, she began making noteworthy strides toward healing.
According to KWTV-DT, the girls were discharged from the hospital, and their first stop was to visit the first responders who helped save their lives. “I have two girls that are roughly the same age, so it hit home pretty hard,” said Clayton Wilsey, the firefighter paramedic who was first on the scene. “It’s nice to see the end result of what we do.” Edmond Police Department Lt. Michael Kennener added, “When children go underwater for that long, the odds of them surviving are always extremely rare.”
The McKnight family is now back in Kansas, where they are from. Zoey will continue outpatient physical therapy, and both girls are expected to make a complete recovery. Please keep the McKnights in your prayers as Callie and Zoey heal.