Twenty minutes. Thats how long 12-year-old Charles Dale Ostrander spent immersed in the Pacific Ocean, swept out by a rogue riptide north of Long Beach, Wash. 

When rescuers located and lifted the boys limp body from the water Friday the first of many miracles in Dales story, his family said onlookers thought he must be dead. 

Ive been doing this since 1978, said Doug Knutzen, a member of the volunteer surf rescue team that spotted the boy in the water. Its something you never get used to, but I knew that the boy was gone, absolutely gone. 

The other children who had made the day trip to the beach with his church group from Spanaway, Wash., sobbed in panic. They dropped to their knees and prayed. 

They were crying, face-down on the ground, praying it was a heart-wrenching scene, said Damian Mulinix, a photographer with the Chinook Observer newspaper who responded to the beach report. 

Knutzen carried the boy from the water and handed him to medics, who began CPR. It was only after they reached Ocean Beach Hospital in Ilwaco, Wash., that Dales pulse returned. 

From there, he was flown to OHSU Doernbecher Childrens Hospital in Portland. Defying all odds, the boy opened his eyes Sunday night as he was eased off sedatives. 

Monday, as his family encouraged him to cough to clear his throat, Dale uttered his first words: I dont have to. 

Considering that doctors had told his parents, Chad and Kirsten Ostrander, that their only son might not live, the moment astonished and gave hope to hospital officials as well as his family. The parents also have four daughters. 

Maybe there is a miracle thats happening here, Chad Ostrander told reporters Tuesday. 

The parents have clung to their faith since they heard the news Friday, despite knowing they might lose their son, they said. 

(The doctors) were very clear that he had been under for too long, had been without oxygen with for too long, Kirsten Ostrander said. 

To the devout mother and father, though, a divine plan would be fulfilled — whether life or death. 

We trust (God) no matter what, and if He chooses to take Dale to heaven, and if He still chooses that, then Hes still good, she said. And if He chooses to bless us and give us back our son, Hes still good. 

Chad Ostrander echoed his wife, saying, We maintained that everything is going to be all right. There will be a tomorrow. 

If we have to say goodbye to our son, at least we get to say goodbye. 

The Ostranders thanked rescuers for their efforts and family, friends and fellow members of Bethel Baptist Church in Spanaway for their prayers. They described Dale, a student at Bethel Baptist Christian School, as an average boy who loves Legos and telling bad jokes. 

Despite his progress so far, Dale is not in the clear yet. Doctors told his parents that even if he survives, he could have permanent brain damage. 

But the fact that he keeps beating the odds regaining his heartbeat and breath, speaking full sentences and wanting to get up and move around shows his family that he is not giving up.