17 December 2023 , 16:06
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A mum had to administer life-saving CPR on her baby last Christmas when the youngster stopped breathing.
Joy Macgregor is now urging members of the public to learn the lifesaving skills which aided her three-week-old son, Logan, when he suddenly stopped breathing. Joy, from Scotland, said: "I can't bear to think what could have happened if I hadn't started doing CPR and if I hadn't managed to get him breathing. What happened to Logan on Christmas Day was terrifying but after a tough few days he recovered fully. We know not all families who go through similar things are so lucky." Logan was born by Caesarean section in Shetland on December 5 last year.
Young Logan was airlifted to hospital after some life-saving CPR (Collect)His parents, who also have Preston, 5, and Amelia-Rose, 2, said that Logan was a happy, contented baby for the first two weeks of his life until he fell ill. Joy, who like chef Shaun was born on Shetland, said: "On the week leading up to Christmas, my little girl started to get a cold. Then, a couple of days later, Logan started snuffling and sneezing. Initially he seemed fine but then we noticed a change in his breathing his chest started to suck in at his ribs."
The worried parents took Logan to their local hospital, where doctors confirmed he had a respiratory bug but said there was no medical reason to admit him, EdinburghLive reported. Joy added: "We were woken in the early hours of Christmas Day as my daughter was sick. I was settling her back down after changing her and Shaun had taken Logan to change. He seemed floppy and his colour wasn't good. We decided to take him to hospital. By this point I had Logan in my arms and suddenly he stopped breathing."
As Shaun ran to a neighbour's to get help, Joy dialled 999 while also starting to do chest compressions on her son. She said: "As a nurse, I'd been trained in CPR but I'd never done it on a child and your training certainly doesn't prepare you for doing CPR on your own baby." I knew I had to get him breathing again. What I did certainly wasn't gold-standard CPR but by this time I had the 999 operator giving me guidance too. I don't know how long I was working on him. I think I was at the beginning of the third cycle of chest compressions when he started breathing again."
Baby boy has spent his life in hospital as doctors are 'scared' to discharge him
When paramedics arrived, Joy's home was filled with family and neighbours who had come to help. "The ambulance took 16 minutes to arrive, which is quick for where we live in Shetland," said Joy. Logan was taken to the hospital where plans were made for an air ambulance to fly him 400 miles to a specialist children's unit in Edinburgh.
However, Joy and Shaun were told they couldn't go with their baby on the plane due to weight restrictions. The couple's first available flight was cancelled because of bad weather. Their quickest way off Shetland was to take a morning flight to Aberdeen on December 27 and then catch a taxi.
Joy said: "Being told we couldn't fly with Logan felt like another stab to the heart. Instead we had to go home without him. It was still Christmas Day and we had to try not to break down in front of our other children."
Tests showed that Logan's breathing issues were due to the respiratory virus RSV. After several days on a ventilator, he fully recovered and was able to return to Shetland with his parents on January 5.
Over the past year, the family has organised fundraising events for Edinburgh Royal Hospital for Children and Young People and Ronald McDonald House charity, which provided them with accommodation in Edinburgh. Joy shared: "Logan is such a happy and healthy one-year-old but I do get flashback and will always have anxiety over what could have happened. We are so grateful to the medical staff who cared for Logan. CPR is such a simple and important skill. It should be taught at schools and workplaces. It really does save lives."
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