Miracle on Christmas DayDeborh MorrisOn Christmas Eve the little girl, Brittany, was found lying in the snow, clad only in her underwear and nightshirt. Her tiny body was frozen stiff. Could the little girl be brought back to life? You will find a pleasantly surprising answer after reading the story. Cold rain mixed with snow fell against the kitchen window of the house trailer in the US town of Elkins, West Virginia. Melinda Eichelberger, seven months pregnant, pulled a tray of Christmas cookies from the oven. The cold weather outside made the trailer a cozy place on this night of December 23, 1990. Who wants a cookie? Melinda called to Steve, 21, and their three-year-old daughter, Brittany, in the next room. Brittany quickly came around the corner. I want one! she said with a grin. Melinda, 20, was taking time off from her restaurant job to do Christmas baking. For once, she wouldnt have to rise at dawn to work the early shift. Steve, laid off from his discount-store job the week before, would also be home. Around midnight, Melinda wearily turned off the oven. Steve was already in bed; Brittany was on the floor, sound asleep. Their small Christmas tree twinkled brightly nearby. Melinda smiled down at her daughter. She looks so comfortable, she thought. Ill let her sleep here. Covering Brittany with a blanket, she kissed her cheek and went to bed. The clock read 9:33 a.m. when Melinda awoke with a start. Oh, I dont have to work today, she realized with relief. Then she noticed the house was unusually silent. Brittany? she called sleepily as she walked down the hallway. The moment she stepped into the living room an icy wind hit her. She looked around in confusion and saw the front door wide open. She pushed on the door. It was frozen in place. Good, Melinda thought with relief. She couldnt have gone outside. Brittany? she called again. Melinda thought her daughter might be playing a joke. Two nights before, Brittany and Steve had hidden in the hall closet and jumped out to surprise her. But the closet was empty and so was Brittanys bedroom. Melinda ran to wake Steve. I cant find Brittany! she cried. Together, they searched the trailer. Then Melindas eyes turned to the doorand the cold landscape outside. Oh dear God, she said. Throwing on jackets, the couple rushed out the door. The cold wind took their breath away. Brittany! they shouted, racing up and down the row of trailers. Why didnt I wake up earlier? Melinda thought. Why didnt I hear her open the door? Please, God, dont let anything have happened to my baby. Then she spotted something between two trailers. Steve! she cried out. Brittany, still clothed only in her underwear and nightshirt, was lying in the snow. Her eyes were frozen open, wide and staring, her mouth agape. With her face framed by soft blond curls, she looked like a porcelain doll. Steve took his daughter in his arms and raced for their trailer, shouting for help. Brittanys tiny body was stiff, unyielding. He laid her on the couch and started piling blankets on her as a neighbor rushed in. The man looked in horror at the frozen little girl, then checked for a pulse. Shaking his head, he placed both hands on her chest and began CPR. Steve, worried that Melinda would go into premature labor, sent her from the room with another neighbor. The phone rang in the local Emergency Squad room. Minutes later an emergency crew pulled up in front of the trailer. Brenda Dailey, a nurse, ran up the steps, her heart racing. When her fingers touched Brittanys neck to check for a pulse, she gaspedthe flesh was cold and hard. Shes frozen solid! she thought in disbelief. Dailey moved the child to the floor and continued CPR. A moment later Doctor Lora Eye and crew chief Delma Caudell rushed in with equipment. Caudell linked the child to a heart monitor. Shes got a flat line, she said grimly. As Steve turned away tearfully, Eye felt sad and depressed. The doctors placed chemical hot packs on Brittany and then inserted a tube down her throat to force oxygen into her lungs. After they wrapped her with blankets and loaded her onto the stretcher, Steve followed them to the ambulance. Assured that a neighbor would drive Melinda to the hospital, he climbed in, and sirens began to sound. Dr. John Veach was on duty in the hospital emergency room when Brittany arrived at 10:45 a.m. Her temperature was 23 degrees Celsius. She had been in a deathlike state for at least 40 minutes. The well-known rule in cases of severe cold, however, is that the victims arent dead until theyre warm and dead. Get some heat lamps, Veach told the nurses. After taking a series of emergency measures, Veach asked Eye and Dailey to continue CPR. Until Brittanys blood circulated freely, the cardiac drugs they had administered would have little effect. Rushing into the room