Guisborough dad whose son died at three days old urges people to learn CPR
Noah died from bacterial meningitis in 2017
A Guisborough couple are urging more people to learn CPR after their son Noah died at just three days old.
On 21st May, 2017, Noah’s parents, Vicky and Dan, had introduced the new-born to family when tragedy struck.
Dan said: “We had a nice visit to family and everyone enjoyed meeting Noah. We were leaving when Vicky sensed that something wasn’t right, as Noah refused to eat and now he had turned blue. We decided it would be best to drop in at the nearest hospital to get him checked, just in case.”
Noah was quickly put in the car and strapped in, with the intention of driving to the hospital. Vicky soon noticed that Noah wasn’t breathing and panic mode set in.
Dan said: “I stopped the car and started performing CPR on Noah in the front seat until the ambulance arrived. He was unresponsive. I’ve had to do CPR on children before as part of my job but this was personal – he was my special boy.”
Whilst Dan performed CPR, Vicky went in search of a defibrillator but could not find one at any nearby locations.
A carer from the local retirement home came out to assist but was not trained on baby CPR and could not help. Dan knew that he was going to tire himself out so had to tell the carer what to do, and she eventually took over.
The ambulance arrived after 8-10 minutes and police arrived shortly after. Dan had done everything possible to save Noah’s life until the crew took over.
The family arrived at the hospital where doctors tried to save Noah life for about two hours and continued to find a weak pulse. After several hours they decided to stop resuscitation and Noah passed away in his mother’s arms.
Dan said: "I don't think anyone could ever think of losing their child.
"I don't think any parent could sit there and pick one of their kids to die and not be able to do anything, and that's why it's so important to be able to help."
In memory of Noah, a defibrillator was later installed at the care home, featuring a dedicated plaque.
Dan and Vicky felt devastated and lost, so they found themselves doing charity work to raise awareness around the importance of CPR. They both continue to do an annual event for Noah and have raised over £35,000 since 2017 for 4Louis.
Dan concluded “It’s so important that everyone knows how to correctly perform CPR on people of all ages, as it varies vastly between an adult, child, and a baby. One way we can continue to remember Noah is through raising money for charity and raising awareness of baby CPR.”
Do people know how to perform CPR?
Research has found more than a third of adults wouldn’t feel confident saving a baby’s life with CPR if they went into cardiac arrest and shockingly, 41% wouldn’t feel confident knowing what to do if they saw their child or someone else’s child in cardiac arrest.
The Resuscitation Council UK are teaching the public, particularly anyone who has the responsibility of caring for children, how to do baby/child CPR this Summer.