In the early hours of Sunday 29th January, expectant mum Shona Fordham from Friday Bridge, went into labour and suffered serious complications. Shona says, “At first everything seemed fine, my waters broke and I started having contractions – then suddenly I just knew something was very wrong. I called out to my partner Jamie to dial 999 as soon as he could. I was hysterical, it was a total nightmare.”
Shona had suffered an umbilical prolapse; in other words the baby’s oxygen supply was in severe danger of being cut off.
Within minutes, two first responders arrived at the family home, followed by an EEAST Ambulance Service paramedic crew and then an Magpas Air Ambulance enhanced medical team. Magpas Dr Anne Booth and Magpas Paramedic Alex Pearce had the expert skills and knowledge to help Shona and keep her baby alive. Shona sums up the severity of the situation by saying, “They had just 9 minutes to ensure my daughter survived”. Dr Anne and Paramedic Alex then continued to treat Shona en route to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Kings Lynn, where she gave birth to a very healthy Daphne-Louise.
Shona explains, “The hospital are calling Daphne a miracle baby and that’s thanks to the advanced care she was given by Magpas Air Ambulance (alongside the emergency services) at our house.”
After Shona got in touch with the charity over the weekend to say a big, heartfelt thank you, Magpas Air Ambulance Dr Anne Booth visited the family home and was given a very warm welcome. Dr Booth says, “It’s absolutely lovely to see the adorable Baby Daphne-Louise and Shona looking so well. They are perfect examples of the critical difference Magpas Air Ambulance can make for people in life-threatening emergencies, in the East of England and beyond.” Anne then added, “We are only able to provide our vital service thanks to generous donations from the public.”
Proud mum Shona finished by saying, “It’s so exciting to meet Anne and to introduce her properly to Daphne-Louise. I can’t believe Magpas Air Ambulance is a charity – as soon as Anne and Alex arrived, they just knew what to do. They literally brought the hospital into our house! If it wasn’t for Magpas Air Ambulance, it would have been a very different story for my daughter and even for me. Jamie and I can’t thank them enough.”
