Texas Teen Died — Then Came Back to Life — After Suffering Cardiac Arrest While Rock Climbing: 'A Miracle' (Exclusive)

After performing CPR for two hours, doctors pronounced 16-year-old Sammy Berko dead — now his mother is advocating for kids' heart screenings

In 2019, Jennifer and Craig Berko’s 10-year-old son Frankie died suddenly. So when they got a call that their older son Sammy had collapsed last January, it felt like their nightmare all over again. After nearly two hours of CPR, doctors said they couldn’t save Sammy. But four minutes after he was pronounced dead, his head moved. Sammy was alive. Sammy and his parents share the story of his miraculous second chance in this week's issue of People.

On Saturday, January 7, 2023, Sammy Berko's parents took him to a rock climbing gym not far from their home near Houston to climb with friends. The 16-year-old climbed to the top of a wall, rang the bell and slumped over. When he went limp in his safety harness, his friends thought he was joking and they tossed their hats up at him. But Sammy didn't move.

Staff at the gym quickly lowered him down and a radiologist who happened to be at the gym performed CPR until the ambulance arrived. They rushed Sammy to the hospital where doctors continued trying to save him.

At 6:35 p.m., after nearly two hours of CPR, doctors pronounced Sammy dead. They told his parents to say goodbye to their son. “They said, ‘We’re so sorry, we can’t do anything else,’” remembers Sammy’s father, Craig Berko, 47, a sales consultant.

Jennifer remembers telling Sammy how much she loved him, and how proud she was of him. "I prayed," she says. Craig stood there staring at his son in disbelief.

“A miracle.”

Then, suddenly, he saw Sammy move. Craig screamed for a doctor, who initially said it was probably just a reflex. But then they watched as Sammy's neck turned purple and his pulse started — and doctors rushed him to the pediatric ICU.

“That was a very long night,” remembers Jennifer.

The next morning, doctors told Craig and Jennifer that Sammy's major organs were shutting down, and he might not survive the day. “That was devastating,” recalls Jennifer, who nonetheless remained hopeful. “After watching my son be pronounced dead and brought back to life, I didn’t believe it… I didn’t think he would die.”

So she went to her son’s bedside and told him exactly that: “I said, 'Sammy, they’re telling us you’re not going to make it through the next 24 hours. I want you to know that I don’t believe a word of it. I have seen you come back to life. And if you can do that, then I truly believe you are going to pull through. I know you will come back to us. I know you will wake up.'”

And later that day, he did. “It was miraculous,” says Jennifer.

Sammy, who is now 17, was soon diagnosed with a genetic heart condition, catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (CPVT), which causes sudden arrhythmias in otherwise healthy children. The rare disorder affects about one in 10,000 people, and left untreated, it can cause a heart to stop.

His 10-year-old brother, Frankie, had also died suddenly in September 2019. Subsequent DNA testing revealed that Frankie, Sammy and their mother, Jennifer Berko, 45, all have CPVT.

“It’s a shocking diagnosis,” says Jennifer. “What we've been told about CPVT is usually your first cardiac arrest is your last.”

Related: Buffalo Bills' Damar Hamlin Suffered a Cardiac Arrest — Here's How That's Different From a Heart Attack

Now an advocate for children's heart health screenings, Jennifer, a former TV news anchor, is sharing her family's story with PEOPLE to raise awareness about the condition, since many don’t know they have CPVT until it’s too late.

“No other family should ever have to go through what we have been through,” says Jennifer. “There are way too many children, walking around with heart conditions and have no idea. And at any moment, their life could be ripped from them.”

Related: 24-Year-Old Marathoner Collapses on Track After Cardiac Arrest: ‘No Definitive Answer About What Happened’ (Exclusive)

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Sammy spent eight weeks at the hospital before he was transferred to TIRR Memorial Herman where he underwent another 58 days of rehabilitation.

Doctors discovered that Sammy had suffered a series of small strokes and a serious spinal cord injury. But inexplicably, his parents say, his body sent oxygen to his brain and not his spine. “Thank God, because he’s still Sammy,” says Craig.

Sammy is mostly paralyzed from the waist down, although he does have "some feeling" and "some muscles firing" — just not enough to support his full body weight, according to his dad. But using braces and a walker, Sammy was able to walk out of the rehab facility on his own.

“He is literally a miracle,” says Stacey Hall, D.O., pediatric rehabilitation physician with UTHealth Houston and TIRR Memorial Hermann. “He’s truly amazing.”

Related: Bob Odenkirk Marks 1-Year Anniversary of His Heart Attack with Note of Thanks for Fans' Support

Now a junior in high school, Sammy is back in school full time and taking advanced placement classes. Because he has some short-term memory loss, he takes notes in class more than he used to and writes himself reminders. He uses a wheelchair during the school day, but he has therapy five days a week and practices walking daily in hopes of someday being able to walk independently again.

“I want to get as close to how I was before, if I can,” Sammy tells PEOPLE.

His parents are amazed at his positive attitude.

“I don't feel it's worth it to mope and get stuck in all the bad emotions and everything when at the end of the day I'm here, I'm me," says Sammy, who still plays basketball with his friends in his wheelchair. "And I'm still pushing and going. I can still use what I have to do the things I love.”

“No matter what happens, you can still find a way to get through it,” adds Sammy. “Everyone's constantly texting and checking in on me. I feel like all the support has been what's pushed me to get through everything. That’s helped me a lot.”

A GoFundMe has been established to help with Sammy's medical expenses, and Jennifer is also working on a book about her children, and what her kids have taught her.

“No matter how much tragedy you have endured, there are always going to be little miracles that can truly change the world," she says,

“I truly believe that it was [my son] Frankie, on the other side, who pushed Sammy back to us and was, 'It's not your time. You need to go back,'" Jennifer tells PEOPLE. "And I believe it was Frankie who helped him to not only survive it, but to be himself, to have the brain activity and to still have the personality he has."

"I pray every night," she says, "and I talk to Frankie and I tell him, 'Please continue the work you're doing in watching over your brother as he works toward a full recovery.'”

For more on Sammy Berko's story, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday, or subscribe here.  

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