‘Miracle’ baby survived three cardiac arrests after inhaling a drop of milk

A two-and-a-half-week-old baby ‘miraculously’ survived three cardiac arrests after choking on his bottled milk and inhaling a drop.

Little Bertie Spencer has acid reflux so mum Tonicha, 23, initially thought nothing of it until he started to turn blue half an hour later.

The 17-day-old was rushed to hospital on July 21 where doctors told her the liquid on his lungs had stopped him breathing properly, starved him of oxygen and triggered his heart to stop pumping.

Expecting the worst, they told Tonicha and dad David, 25, to say their goodbyes. But as she willed him to pull through, Bertie’s heart rate suddenly picked up and he somehow survived against all the odds.

Doctors told his astonished family, from Grantham, Lincolnshire, that their little boy was a ‘miracle’.

Former customer services advisor Tonicha, who also has a one-year-old daughter named Darcie, said: ‘You never think this sort of thing could ever happen to you.

‘When we were in hospital, I remember thinking that it’s the sort of thing you see on TV. But I just feel so lucky that Bertie made it. We didn’t think he was going to survive at all.

‘The doctors just keep telling me Bertie is a miracle and they can’t believe he’s done so well, but it’s all down to the doctors and nurses that saved him.

‘I owe them my life, because they saved his.’

Tonicha described how she rode in the ambulance with Bertie before David joined her at Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham as the infant went into his first cardiac arrest, eight minutes after arriving.

She said: ‘It all happened at once. I was asked to leave the room just as about fifteen doctors and nurses sprinted in.

‘I was panicking and hysterical because I had no idea what was going on – but that was the moment he first went into cardiac arrest.

‘I just kept repeating “Is he going to survive?” but nobody could tell me because they didn’t know the answer.’

Doctors finally managed to get his heart beating again after eight minutes.

He then went into cardiac arrest two more times, lasting three minutes each, and a nurse told the family they didn’t know what was going to happen.

Tonicha said: ‘I could barely believe what was happening. I was hysterical. I was in total shock.’

The family, including Tonicha’s mum, Claire Fitt, 46, were finally allowed in to see Bertie – but they were told to prepare themselves for the worst, and say their goodbyes.

Tonicha added: ‘He was lying on his bed completely naked, with wires sticking out of him while people did CPR.

‘It felt like I was watching through somebody else’s eyes.

‘Even though he was unconscious, and wouldn’t have been able to understand me anyway, I felt like I should talk to him, so I did.’

And at the sound of Tonicha’s voice, Bertie’s heart rate began to pick up.

She said: ‘That was surreal. I remember at one point saying to him “Come on Bertie, you can’t die yet! We’re seeing Nanny and Grandad next week!”

‘As his heart rate picked up, I just kept talking.’

He became stable, and after six hours in A&E, was moved to the intensive care unit, where he spent five days fighting for his life.

Tonicha said: ‘I had been asking constantly if he would be ok, because I had no idea.

‘Finally, after five days, a doctor said to me that if he had to put money on it, his bet would be that Bertie would survive and get to go home.

‘Although he made it clear there was no guarantee, when he said that, I just burst into tears.

‘It was all I wanted to hear and it meant the world to me. I just needed something to give me hope.’

An MRI scan showed Bertie’s brain had been starved of oxygen during the arrests, and there was some damage to the part that controls movement.

His parents were told he might have cerebral palsy, and struggle to walk or talk, but only time will tell.

Tonicha added: ‘The doctors couldn’t tell us how severe his cerebral palsy will be when he’s older, but he’s doing well, which is a good sign.

‘They said he might not be able to drink properly or smile – but he’s already started drinking from a bottle again, and he smiles every day.

‘We don’t know how he’ll walk yet, but he moves like a normal baby, so it’s encouraging.

‘Seeing him now, you’d never suspect anything was wrong with him. Bertie really is a miracle, and we’re so proud of him.’

Now, a friend of the family has set up an online fundraiser for the family, to help cover the costs of building a sensory room for Bertie.

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