Gore Ottsen Persuasive Speech

On a cold September day of 2010, in Colorado, one of the coldest places in the U.S, 2 year old Gore Ottsen had fallen into icy cold water during a family trip to the Rocky Mountains. While his Mother was bathing his two baby siblings, Gore had slipped out through the back door. When his Mother had frantically realized he was no where in her sight, she immediately assembled a family search party to locate him. After 20 minutes passed by, Gore's Uncle Dave spotted Gore's body trapped under a log in a strong current irrigation ditch 350ft from the cabin. He was rushed to the closest hospital, where the doctor tried to resuscitate the child, but after being submerged for 25 minutes under water, the Ottsen family was told Gore had less than 1 percent change of surviving. The toddlers heart had stopped beating leaving the family devastated. However after almost an hour of having a non-beating heart,

However I assure you it is 100% true, and it is not the first case. These experiences showcase the amazing ability of the humans body and how it can unconsciously protect us.

The reason baby Gore Ottsen survived is due to a evolutionary reflex called the mammalian diving reflex. This reflex is found in mammals such as dolphins and whales who cannot breathe underwater. These animals must come up to the surface to breathe and then carry their air with them as they swim. For example, sperm whales are able to dive deeper than 1000 meters and store up to 3000 liters of air before a dive. How can a mammal stay underwater for so long? Similar to baby Gore Ottsen, the mammalian diving reflex allowing them to stay submerged for extended periods of time.

The reflex is triggered by a physiological reaction to wet apnea, so submersion is necessary for this reaction to occur and cannot merely happen while holding you're breath. When a mammal is submerged, 2 things happen: vasoconstriction and heart rate