Editor's note: On Jan. 19, 2015, 14-year-old St. Charles boy John Smith fell through the ice on Lake Sainte Louise and was underwater for 15 minutes. Four years later, the story of his recovery after his heart stopped beating for 43 minutes has been made into a movie, "Breakthrough," premiering this April. The trailer is now playing in area theaters.
Here is a look back at our original reporting on that story.
A teen who nearly drowned at Lake Sainte Louise walked out of the hospital Wednesday on his own.
John Smith, 14, of St. Charles had been submerged for about 15 minutes on Jan. 19 before emergency workers found him and pulled him out of the frigid water.

John Smith, 14, gets a hug on Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2015, at Cardinal Glennon Children's Medical Center from his attending nurse, Nikisha Thebeau. Smith and his mother, Joyce Smith, were leaving the hospital after his recovery and discharge. Photo by J.B. Forbes, jforbes@post-dispatch.com
He wasn’t breathing, and paramedics and doctors performed CPR on him for 43 minutes without regaining a pulse.
Dr. Kent Sutterer, the lead emergency room physician at St. Joseph West that day, said he was starting to give up hope, so he brought John’s mother, Joyce, into the room to say goodbye.
Sutterer, whose daughter is in the same eighth-grade class as John, said he’d never seen anyone survive after being without a pulse for more than 25 minutes.

Three teens fell through the ice in Lake Sainte Louise on Monday, Jan. 19, 2015. Post-Dispatch file photo
“So at 43 minutes, I was not hopeful at all that he would come back,” Sutterer said, “I was anticipating explaining to his mom that efforts were futile from this point forward.”
But when Joyce Smith came in and saw what was going on, her reaction was to start praying loudly.
“I said, ‘Lord, Holy Spirit, just give me back my son!’ ”
Seconds later, John’s heart began to beat again.
Sutterer said that, like everyone else in the room, he was shocked, but John’s prognosis was still grave.
“His pupils were just minimally reactive, and he was taking occasional gasping-type respirations,” Sutterer said.
The amount of time John had been without a pulse combined with his blood’s pH level, which was below the range where Sutterer had seen anyone survive, were too much, he said. It would be only a matter of hours or days before he would die, Sutterer said he thought.
Once John was stabilized he was airlifted to Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center in St. Louis.
Jason Noble, lead pastor of the Smiths’ church, First Assembly Church in St. Peters, said after John arrived five pastors gathered in his room to pray.
That’s when, Noble said, he saw a vision of two angels in the room and lights over John’s head.
“What I believe is that God was putting his brain back together again, almost rewiring it,” Noble said. “I know that sounds strange, but as soon as it happened, John’s shoulders came off the bed, his eyes opened, and he grabbed my hand. I knew at that point that God was going to pull him through.”
By the next day, John was giving his friends and family the thumbs-up sign, although he remained on a ventilator for eight more days.
John said he and another boy had spent the night at a classmate’s home in Lake Saint Louis the night before the accident because they were off that Monday for Martin Luther King Day.
He remembers nothing about the accident. Pictures of the trio posing on the ice just before they fell through have brought back only bits and pieces of that day. The other teens were not seriously injured.
John was adopted from Guatemala by Joyce and Brian Smith when he was five months old. Brian Smith had been on several mission trips to Latin America to build schools for children, and after one trip, he asked Joyce if she would consider adopting a child. The couple, both on their second marriages, have three grown sons between them.
John gets good grades at Living Word Christian School, where his favorite subject is Earth sciences, and he loves basketball.
“When he’s not playing it, he’s watching it on TV with his dad,” Joyce Smith said.
At 5-foot-3, John is short even for a point guard, but according to his mom, he “burns up the court.”

John Smith, 14, looks at wounds that have almost healed after his near-death experience from falling through the ice at Lake Sainte Louise in St. Charles County on Martin Luther King Day. Smith, shown at Cardinal Glennon Children's Medical Center on Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2015, was waiting to be discharged. Next to him is his mother, Joyce Smith. Photo by J.B. Forbes, jforbes@post-dispatch.com
John seems to have no lasting effects from his near-fatal experience. He has some scrapes on his arms, legs and neck from the jagged edges of the ice, and his hands are sore, but not sore enough to keep him from texting his friends.
When John got out of the hospital, he was heading for a meal of steak and chicken tenders at his favorite restaurant — O’Charley’s. His aunt was planning to bring over a chocolate raspberry cheesecake. John is hoping to gain back the 20 pounds he’s lost since the accident.
He was looking forward to getting some sleep, too.
“This bed is awful, and I’m not eating hospital food any more,” he said.
He is facing several weeks of outpatient physical therapy.
Joyce Smith said she had been overwhelmed by the support and prayers her family received during the past two weeks.
“In a world where it seems like all you hear is bad news, I’ve seen that people really do care, and they really love one another, and they are willing to reach out and help,” she said.

John Smith, 14, walks out Cardinal Glennon Children's Medical Center with his pastor, Jason Noble, on Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2015. Smith was discharged after recovering from his near-drowning experience in Lake Sainte Louise on Martin Luther King Day. Photo by J.B. Forbes, jforbes@post-dispatch.com
She said she believed that through John’s amazing recovery, God was sending a message of love.
“I believe every word of that,” John said. “I don’t always agree with my mom, but this time I definitely do.”
Photos from the premiere
Local First Responders honored in Rescue Movie

Applauded by the first responders who worked to rescue him, John Smith makes his way to the stage in front of Lake Sainte Louise on Wednesday, March 20, 2019, in Lake St. Louis, where he was introduced as the young man who was saved four years ago after falling through the ice. They gathered to celebrate his rescue, miraculous recovery, and a movie entitled "Breakthrough," depicting it all premiering Wednesday in Des Peres. Smith had been underwater for 15 minutes on Jan. 19, 2015, at the age of 14 before he was rescued. Photo by J.B. Forbes, jforbes@post-dispatch.com
Local First Responders honored in Rescue Movie

John Smith (left) gets ready to pose with his mother, Joyce Smith, and two actors who portray them in a movie on Wednesday, March 20, 2019, in Lake St. Louis. Chrissy Metz (third from left) plays Joyce Smith and Marcel Ruiz plays John Smith. They were gathered to celebrate the premier of "Breakthrough." Photo by J.B. Forbes, jforbes@post-dispatch.com
Local First Responders honored in Rescue Movie

John Smith and his girlfriend Abby Medaris, hold a proclamation from the city of Lake St. Louis on Wednesday, March 20, 2019, that describes the rescue efforts of first responders to save Smith four years ago when he fell through the ice of Lake Sainte Louise. Photo by J.B. Forbes, jforbes@post-dispatch.com
Local First Responders honored in Rescue Movie

John Smith (left) poses with his mother, Joyce Smith, and two actors who portray them in a movie on Wednesday, March 20, 2019, in Lake St. Louis. Chrissy Metz (third from left) plays Joyce Smith and Marcel Ruiz plays John Smith. Photo by J.B. Forbes, jforbes@post-dispatch.com
Local First Responders honored in Rescue Movie

John Smith (center) talks with some of the first responders on Wednesday, March 20, 2019, who were responsible for saving his life four years ago when he fell through the ice on Lake Sainte Louise. Photo by J.B. Forbes, jforbes@post-dispatch.com
Local First Responders honored in Rescue Movie

John Smith (center) talks with Alex Giddens (left), a nurse, and Keith Terry, an emergency room technician, on Wednesday, March 20, 2019, in Lake St. Louis. Giddens was in charge of the emergency room at SSM Health St. Joseph Hospital- Lake St. Louis when Smith was brought in four years ago with no pulse. Terry performed CPR on Smith while he was in the hospital. Photo by J.B. Forbes, jforbes@post-dispatch.com
Local First Responders honored in Rescue Movie

John Smith (second from left) and actor Marcel Ruiz pose for a magazine photo shoot on Wednesday, March 20, 2019, on the dock of Lake Sainte Louise in Lake St. Louis. Photo by J.B. Forbes, jforbes@post-dispatch.com
'Breakthrough' to the Red Carpet

John Smith, right, and his girlfriend, Abby Medaris, pose for photos on the red carpet before the premier of "Breakthrough" on Wednesday, March 20, 2019 in Des Peres. "I'm still a kid," says Smith adding that he was excited to be a part of it all. Photo by Colter Peterson, cpeterson@post-dispatch.com
'Breakthrough' to the Red Carpet

John Smith, left, is interviewed by the media on the red carpet while accompanied by his girlfriend, Abby Medaris, before the premier of "Breakthrough" on Wednesday, March 20, 2019 in Des Peres. "I'm still a kid," says Smith adding that he was excited to be a part of it all. Photo by Colter Peterson, cpeterson@post-dispatch.com
'Breakthrough' to the Red Carpet

John Smith, left, is interviewed by the media on the red carpet while accompanied by his girlfriend, Abby Medaris, before the premier of "Breakthrough" on Wednesday, March 20, 2019 in Des Peres. The movie is based on the real life miracle in which Smith, then 14, drowned and was resuscitated, after nearly an hour without a pulse. Photo by Colter Peterson, cpeterson@post-dispatch.com
'Breakthrough' to the Red Carpet

David Crank, left, takes a selfie with John Smith, center, and his girlfriend Abby Medaris during the red carpet event before the premier of "Breakthrough" on Wednesday, March 20, 2019 in Des Peres. The movie is based on the real life miracle in which Smith, then 14, drowned and was resuscitated, after nearly an hour without a pulse. Photo by Colter Peterson, cpeterson@post-dispatch.com
'Breakthrough' to the Red Carpet

John Smith, second from right, poses for a photo with producer DeVon Franklin, right, Nicole Crank, left, David Crank, second from left, and Pastor Jason Noble, center, before the premier of "Breakthrough" on Wednesday, March 20, 2019 in Des Peres. The movie is based on the real life miracle in which Smith, then 14, drowned and was resuscitated, after nearly an hour without a pulse. Photo by Colter Peterson, cpeterson@post-dispatch.com
'Breakthrough' to the Red Carpet

John Smith, center in red suit, is interviewed by the media on the red carpet before the premier of "Breakthrough" on Wednesday, March 20, 2019 in Des Peres. "It's an honor to bring the story back home," says Smith of the red carpet event. Photo by Colter Peterson, cpeterson@post-dispatch.com
'Breakthrough' to the Red Carpet

John Smith, front left in red suit, joins a portion of the cast as well as the original first responders for a group portrait on the red carpet before the premier of "Breakthrough" on Wednesday, March 20, 2019 in Des Peres. The movie is based on the real life miracle in which Smith, then 14, drowned and was resuscitated, after nearly an hour without a pulse. Photo by Colter Peterson, cpeterson@post-dispatch.com