A terrified mum has was forced to resuscitate her baby son after he stopped breathing seconds after making a 'strange' noise as she placed him into his car seat.
Laura Turner, 30, says little Charlie Green's regular cry developed into something more sinister - and to her horror she then discovered he'd stopped breathing after going 'grey and floppy'.
The tot had blood running from his nose after she attempted to take the young child to his baby music group, BerkshireLive report.
It left frantic Laura with no option but to attempt resuscitation herself while calling 999 - and admits she thought he was dead.
The parent, from Reading, Berkshire, said: "Charlie was completely fine that morning and started crying as he always did as he didn’t like the car seat, but very quickly his cry sounded very strange and when I looked down he wasn’t breathing.
“I got him out of the seat quickly and at that point, he was grey and floppy. Initially, I panicked as blood then began coming out of his nose and, honestly, I thought he was gone.”
Laura's instincts took over and, having completed a baby first aid course during her pregnancy, she was able to lay Charlie down and begin rescue breaths.
She was supported by a 999 call handler as they waited for paramedics from South Central Ambulance Service (SCAS) to arrive.
Laura, a children’s speech and language therapist, said: “The operator told me the crew would arrive as quickly as possible as he was a category one emergency.
“I remember Charlie started breathing slowly on his own, so I held him in the baby recovery position so the blood didn’t go into his airway and I remember the operator talking me through things and telling me that Charlie could hear me and to reassure him."
Within six minutes, paramedics and a crew from Thames Valley Air Ambulance (TVAA) arrived and took over, helping to stabilise Charlie.
He was transferred and he went to resuscitation and was put on a ventilator, with Laura joined by partner and Charlie’s father Adam Green, 34, who rushed from work straight to the hospital.
Charlie was then taken by another ambulance to the paediatric intensive care unit at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford where he stayed for a week.
He made a full recovery after the terrifying incident in September 2018 - with no developmental concerns despite the need for resuscitation and ventilation.
Doctors still do not know why he stopped breathing.
Laura said: “We don’t fully know what caused this to happen as it was just out of the blue and all his tests subsequently were clear, though clinicians suspected there was a possibility he may have had some blood in his airway or lungs.
“Thanks to the quick arrival and excellent care provided by SCAS and TVAA, as well as the hospital care he received, Charlie made a complete recovery and has no developmental problems.
“He is a bright, happy, sociable three-and-a-half-year-old who loves riding his bike, swimming and anything to do with cars – we are so proud of him every single day and remain so grateful for the excellent care he received.”
Laura and Adam, a quantity surveyor wanted to take on a fundraising challenge to thank the ambulance staff who helped.
They decided Laura and Charlie would participate in this year’s ‘Outrun an Ambulance’ challenge, which sees people take part in a virtual fundraising challenge to cover more miles than an emergency ambulance does in a single shift.
They can walk, run, swim, scoot, cycle or ride anything that is self-propelled to complete the distance.
Laura said: “Adam and I are so grateful to the team who helped us, including the operator on the phone, and are just really happy we can do a little to give back.
“Therefore, Charlie and I have decided to take on the ‘Outrun an Ambulance’ challenge and will complete the average mileage (90 miles) driven by a Reading ambulance on a typical shift.
“Charlie will ride his bike and I will run and we are aiming to complete this in as little time as we can!”
Vanessa Casey, chief executive of South Central Ambulance Charity, said: “This is such an amazing story and it is lovely to see Charlie thriving and doing so well.
“A huge thank you to Laura, Adam and Charlie for supporting us through the Outrun an Ambulance challenge and we hope their story inspires more people to sign up.”
