Parents thank ambulance crew for saving their baby's life

A WREXHAM couple have thanked the ambulance crew who saved their son’s life after he stopped breathing.

Natalie and Danny McCluskey, of Southsea, Wrexham, have personally thanked the Welsh Ambulance Service crew who responded to their son’s medical emergency at an emotional reunion.

Postal worker Danny, 33, and teacher Natalie, 32, had no idea how drastically events would deteriorate just one day before their son Jackson was due to celebrate his first birthday.

Natalie said: “On the morning before Jackson’s first birthday, he seemed a little lethargic and had a bit of a temperature but otherwise seemed fine.

“I’d been over to visit my mother and then later in the afternoon, had gone to the shopping park to get a birthday card and some other bits ready for his birthday.

“While I was in the card shop, Jackson became very sleepy and by the time we got back to the car, he had begun having a seizure.

“Jackson had never had a seizure before, and it was very scary to see him like that, so I immediately called 999 and explained what was happening.”

Ian Binnington, an Advanced Paramedic Practitioner based at the Ambulance and Fire Services Resource Centre in Wrexham, arrived on scene just five minutes after the initial 999 call, along with Health Board Clinical Lead, Hannah Lowther who was accompanying Ian to complete a routine clinical ride out.

Ian said: “When I arrived, I could see that Jackson was still having convulsions and had been fitting continuously for several minutes.

“I initially administered a fast-acting anti-seizure medication but unfortunately, that didn’t stop Jackson’s seizures and at that point, I knew that things were really serious and called for back-up.”

Alix Arendacz, an operational manager also based in Wrexham, received the request for back-up and immediately rushed to the scene.

Alix said: “When the request came in, it was for ‘P1’ back-up, which is the highest level of back-up you can request so I knew that the situation was really serious and that Ian needed assistance as soon as possible.

“When I arrived, we performed a procedure where medication is administered directly into the patient’s bone.

“I have to say that in all the years I’ve been a paramedic, Jackson is the first patient I have performed this procedure on while they are conscious, which shows just how serious his condition was.”

Despite attempts to get the seizures under control, Jackson continued fitting and it was decided that he would need to be taken to the emergency department as soon as possible.

Ian said: “We pre-alerted the staff at Wrexham Maelor Hospital and advised them of Jackson’s condition and just three minutes later, we arrived to hand him over to a specialist team who were waiting for him.”

Upon arrival at the emergency department, Jackson was now so poorly that he stopped breathing and went into respiratory arrest.

Natalie said: “Up until that point, it hadn’t really hit me just how serious things were but when the emergency call went out for a crash team, and I saw them rush past me with the defibrillator I really began to panic.

“Ian was fantastic – he stayed with us the whole time and really went above and beyond to reassure us and to make sure we were kept informed.”

Jackson was successfully resuscitated and was later diagnosed with a collapsed left lung as a result of pneumonia.

He spent five days in hospital and has since made a full recovery.

Hannah Lowther added: “I personally found the incident emotionally demanding, having a child of a similar age at home.

“I was delighted and relieved to hear that the timely, lifesaving interventions that we provided had such a positive outcome for Jackson and his family.”

Natalie said: “We never expected to spend his first birthday in hospital but we were just happy that he was alive and still with us.

“The staff on the baby unit at Wrexham Maelor were fantastic and really made an effort with us to celebrate his birthday.

“On a personal note, we would like to put on record our sincere thanks to Ian, Alix and Hannah as we believe it was their decisive actions and decision not to delay taking Jackson to the emergency department that ultimately saved his life.

“Ian even took the time to come back to the hospital the following day to check up on us which showed us just how much he genuinely cared.

“We will be forever grateful.”

Editor’s Notes

For more information, email Communications Officer Jeff.Prescott@wales.nhs.uk or call Jeff on 07811 748363.