A devastated father has recalled the horrifying moment he discovered his four-year-old daughter drowning in the bath after she suffered a suspected 'underlying epileptic fit'. Little Harriet Richardson, who has now been left with brain damage as a result of the tragic incident, asked her dad Jamie to run her a bath after she came down with chickenpox on January 5.
However, tragedy struck while Jamie went to get the youngster from pyjamas and discovered she had suffered a seizure in the bath while he was gone and went under the water. The young girl who is 'susceptible to febrile seizures' had her temperature checked before she went into the bath to make sure she would be alright in the water, the ECHO reports.
Speaking of the awful moment, Jamie said: "I couldn't believe this was happening to me and I couldn't believe this was happening to Harriet. I scooped her out of the bath, she was in respiratory arrest. It was horrific."
After calling 999, Jamie began doing CPR after discovering Harriet was not breathing. Jamie said: "I was doing CPR for 12 and a half minutes and I found a heart beat under my hand. At this point the paramedics had taken over."
The youngster was rushed to Royal Berkshire Hospital and was placed into a medically induced coma and was then transferred to John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford where she remained in the coma for ten days. Jamie said: "They placed her in a neurologically preserved state, which means her body was totally cooled down in order to make sure we preserve as much of her brain as possible from the brain damage she's received."
The four-year-old sustained a hypoxic brain injury which was caused by a lack of oxygen to the brain and must now learn how to walk, talk and even smile again. Harriet's aunties, Lorna and Lucy Richardson have organised a Gofundme page to help raise donations for the family as the young girl continues her rehabilitation.
Jamie said: "Harriet is one of those little girls where if there was a party and she walked in, everyone knew about it. Harriet is the most wonderful human being anyone could wish for.
"She has absolutely gone through hell over the past few weeks." Jamie said his daughter had previously suffered from a febrile seizure in a restaurant at the age of two and was now taking medication to help regulate her temperature.
Medics believe that the most likely cause of the seizure was an underlying epileptic fit. Harriet is due to be transferred to a specialist unit at The Children's Trust in Tadworth, Surrey on April 13, where she will continue her rehabilitation.
Jamie said: "She is showing really positive signs. The medical staff are absolutely incredible here.
"She's showing signs of awareness and she's having lots of physio, lots of speech therapy and occupational therapy." Jamie said he and his wife Kimberley, 29 are 'humbled' by the amount of overwhelming support they have received so far.
In a message on the fundraising page, they said: "We have been inundated with support, it’s appreciated through our darkest moments more than we could ever explain. Times are hard all round right now but a crowdfunding page has been asked time and time again by lots of very lovely people so if you are able to help at all we would be very grateful."
To visit the Gofundme page click here.
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our daily newsletter here .
