A MOTHER whose son who was born desperately ill with sepsis has made a moving tribute to York Hospital staff who repeatedly saved her baby’s life.

Jemma Bavidge, 25, almost lost her son Angus after he found to be seriously ill when he was born and was struggling to breathe.

He was resuscitated on the labour ward and rushed to intensive care, where the actions of staff saved his life, Jemma said.

Angus has since been allowed to return home and a moving post written by Jemma thanking the NHS for their efforts and compassion, has been liked and shared by many hundreds of people on social media.

Jemma said: “They ventilated him quickly enough to save his life. They started antibiotics quickly enough to save his life.

"They rushed him off to intensive care and spent the next eight days caring for him like one of their own. The nurses in SCBU [the Special Care Baby Unit] are incredible, I could go back to the ward and actually sleep because I just knew he was in safe hands.”

Jemma gave thanks to the labour ward, the maternity ward and “most importantly, the angels in SCBU who saved our little boy’s life at least three times.”

It is not clear how Angus came to have sepsis as he was born at term with no surfactant in his lungs.

“All my bloods were clear, my waters intact. No-one has a clue what happened, not a single one of us in that room that day were expecting what happened next but they didn’t dwell on that, they resuscitated him quickly enough to save his life,” Jemma said.

In a moving post, she wrote about the staff: “Thank you for supporting me when I needed it, for knowing I had so many unspoken questions, you just knew I needed to know.

York Press:

"For leaving me alone when I needed the time with my beautiful boy. For every single thing you did over those eight days. Every single one of you are just the most amazing humans on this Earth.

“The midwives on the labour ward stayed with me, they made sure I could express my breast milk. One lovely lady whose name escapes me stayed with me an hour to make sure I had the hang of it. She then checked on me regularly after that.”

She continued to thank the Embrace team who transferred them, and the SCBU consultant Guy, who saved Angus’ life and showed endless compassion to the family, and to her GP, anaesthetist and midwife.

Born on November 9, Angus was able to go home with his parents Jemma and Neil and brother Dexter to their home in Malton on November 16.

He has since made remarkable progress.

While there was some initial concern he may have suffered brain damage, and will have to undergo an MRI scan, Jemma said he seems strong and alert.

Angus rolled over at three weeks and at seven weeks is able to roll both ways, she said.

While he has suffered slight hearing loss, the audiology department made this seem like a “walk in the park”, she said.

“We now have our stunning, incredible, strong little man home,” Jemma said, “Because of every single one of [the hospital staff]. You are all heroes. You are all incredible. The NHS is incredible.”

  • Photos and online posts reproduced with Jemma's permission