Hiker found lifeless on Mount Rainier brought back from the dead after dramatic rescue

SEATTLE -- Doctors took dramatic action to bring a lost hiker found in whiteout conditions on Washington's Mount Rainier back from the dead.

Hiker Michael Knapinski was lifeless when Navy crews found him in Mount Rainier National Park last weekend. He was lost overnight in below-freezing conditions.

The rescue team flew him to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. When he got to the hospital his pulse stopped.

Doctors jumped into action, administering CPR and using a machine to keep Knapinski alive by pumping blood outside of his body.

After 45 long minutes, doctors were finally able to jumpstart his heart.

"When I woke up, I just really didn't comprehend what had happened," said Knapinski. "I'm extremely grateful to everybody here at the hospital for not giving up on me. I'm alive and breathing."

Knapinski is still in the hospital. Doctors said he will probably need physical therapy but they are hopeful he will make a full recovery.