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Florida family credits strangers, Disney staff for saving son’s life after he collapsed on ride

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Updated  October 2, 2024 9:11am EDT
Orange County
FOX 35 Orlando

Family says strangers, Disney staff saved son

A Florida family is expressing gratitude to strangers and Walt Disney World staff who helped save their 5-year-old son after he collapsed on a roller coaster.

ORLANDO, Fla. - A Florida family is expressing gratitude to strangers and Walt Disney World staff who helped save their 5-year-old son after he collapsed on a roller coaster.

Christine and Ernesto Tagle’s son, Ernesto III, passed out shortly after the family boarded the Guardians of the Galaxy ride. Christine, who was sitting behind him, realized something was wrong when she couldn’t feel a pulse. 

"I was screaming, hitting him, and saying something’s wrong," she recalled.

Ernesto was diagnosed with a rare heart condition which can cause his heart to go into arrhythmia during periods of extreme excitement or activity. The family had no idea about his condition until their recent Disney trip.

After the ride ended, Christine began performing CPR on her son. A passing couple, who happened to be a nurse and an EMT, jumped in to help. A Disney employee quickly brought over an AED, which was used to restart the boy’s heart before he was rushed to the hospital.

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"We’re just so thankful everything worked out the way it did," said Ernesto Tagle, Jr., the boy’s father. "We can’t thank the people who helped us enough."

Little Ernesto has since undergone surgery to receive a defibrillator and is recovering without neurological damage. His active lifestyle has slowed down for now, but his parents are just grateful he’s still full of life.

"We just feel so lucky this didn’t rob us of his smile and energy," Christine said.

With the help of social media, the Tagle family has been able to track down the strangers who helped save their son’s life.

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