A Sunderland boy who needed to be airlifted after he stopped breathing is now taking part in a challenge four years later to raise funds for the charity who came to his aid.
Isaac Hoey was only six weeks old when he suddenly stopped breathing while on a weekend break in the Mungrisdale area of the Lake District.
Speaking after the incident, which occurred in January 2018, his mother Helen Hoey said: “We had been away for the weekend in the Lake District and Isaac had been poorly with a cold.
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“On Monday we had packed the car and were ready to go home when Isaac started crying in his car seat.
“It’s usually normal for a baby to cry, but then he started coughing and his face went blue because he’d stopped breathing.”
Isaac’s dad Steven Hoey performed CPR and managed to get Isaac breathing again just before paramedics from the North West Ambulance Service and a paramedic and doctor team from the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) arrived.
Isaac was administered oxygen by GNAAS’ critical care team before being airlifted to the paediatric intensive care unit at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle, where it was revealed that Isaac was suffering from bronchiolitis.
Isaac was put on a ventilator and spent three days in intensive care followed by four days of rest before he was eventually allowed to come home.
Thankfully, Isaac recovered well and is now four years old, and has a two-year-old brother called Elijah.
The outgoing siblings enjoy regular walks, especially going to the seaside which is near their home, and have signed up to take part in the Race to the Base challenge organised by GNAAS.
The challenge sees fundraisers cover the distance GNAAS’ critical care team fly when returning to the charity’s Eaglescliffe airbase from key locations in the region.
Participants can choose to cover 32, 78 or 130 miles between 1-31 March, and can complete the distance any way they want, such as running, walking, cycling or swimming.
Each distance is captained by a member of the charity’s critical care team, and the brothers have signed up to Team Pilots, which is 32 miles.
They plan to walk the distance and visit Penshaw Monument and Hamsterley Forest on their travels.
Mrs Hoey said: “We were out walking most weekends during lockdown but that has been overtaken by other activities so I’m hoping it will encourage us to be a bit more active.
"GNAAS is an essential service that you never realise you might need until you do. Until we got involved we did not know it was completely reliant on donations.
"People should sign up for the challenge as it's a fun way to be more active and raise funds for an amazing charity."
Entry for Race to the Base is £10 and participants receive a medal and a certificate to say thank you for their achievement. Those who raise over £50 in sponsorship money will also receive a GNAAS branded memento.
Please visit gna.as/racetothebase2022 or call 01325 487 263 to find out more information on how to sign up to the Race to the Base.
To sponsor Isaac and Elijah, visit: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/isaacandelijah
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