Miracle baby beats E. coli, sepsis... and Covid-19
A BABY born 15 weeks prematurely has defied all the odds to beat E. coli, sepsis and Covid-19.
Archie Edwards weighed just 1lb 11oz when he arrived without a heartbeat on December 1 after his mum’s waters broke without notice.
Terrified parents Sheree Murray and Robert Edwards, both 21, feared he would die as medics battled for 40 minutes to save his life.
Robert said: “I’ve never been so scared. They couldn’t find a heartbeat, I thought I’d lost my firstborn son.
“It felt like an eternity. My son was just there, and I felt completely helpless.
“I was getting upset. I just sat down next to Sheree and prayed.
“When they said he had a heartbeat I’ve never felt so grateful in my life.”
Little Archie was placed on a ventilator at Burnley General Hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit and seemed to be recovering.
But at just five weeks old he caught E. coli, a bacterial infection, which led to life-threatening sepsis. Further tests revealed that the baby also had Covid-19.
Doctors believe he is one of the youngest in Britain to have contracted the disease.
Robert, a construction worker from Colne, Lancs, said he was “frightened to death” when he heard his boy had tested positive for the killer virus.
He said: “His lungs were going white, and I honestly thought we were going to lose him in those 10 days.
“When we were told he had Covid we thought it was going to be the last of it – it was the scariest moment of our lives.”
Sheree added: “When we were told about his heartbeat and then the sepsis and Covid it was terrifying. I’ve always wanted to be a mum so I was absolutely over the moon when I found out I was pregnant – and we didn’t want to lose him.”
Archie spent the next two weeks battling the disease.
However, his parents were not allowed to see him together due to the pandemic so were forced to take turns driving to the hospital to be with him – Sheree in the mornings and Robert in the evenings.
The brave baby has now fought off both Covid and sepsis and is recovering in hospital. Archie, who’s due date was March 14, will hopefully be able to go home with his parents around that time.
Robert said: “I cannot wait to have him home – safe and sound. He’s our miracle baby and we couldn’t be prouder of him.”