Jackson youth breathing on his own

Andrew Tyler, an 11-year-old Jackson youth who nearly drowned on June 6, is now breathing on his own, but is still not conscious, Tyler's grandmother Blanch Breeden said Tuesday.

Andrew, while swimming for the Barracuda swim team, jumped into the water and went into cardiac arrest due to a condition known as Long QT Syndrome, an electrical disorder of the heart.

Andrew has been at Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital in St. Louis since the day of the accident and is making slow and steady progress.

A couple days after the accident, Andrew began moving his hands and feet. Recently, he began breathing on his own.

He is receiving food through a feeding tube and still has a tube in his throat.

"He still hasn't woke up, but he is breathing on his own," Breeden said. "It seems like everybody is positive and we're praying for a 100 percent recovery. We appreciate everyone asking how he's doing and we appreciate their prayers. We don't want them to stop."