Dad on song for little Jude
A FATHER who faced the terrifying moment of giving his infant son CPR after he stopped breathing has written a song about the experience to help raise money for charity.
Musician Ross Graham penned his new song Oxygenate after his son Jude stopped breathing just hours after arriving home from hospital.
Jude was born 11 weeks prematurely and has spent a lot of his early life in hospital due to a hole in his heart and other health problems.
His 26-year-old dad, originally from Easterhouse, said: “Jude weighed only one pound when he was born. He was in the neonatal unit for a long time.
“After four months he got released, and we were in the house for just a couple of hours when he stopped breathing,
“I had to give him CPR because although an ambulance was phoned, they couldn’t find the house.
“They told me over the phone how to do the CPR. Jude was out for about several minutes and he came back after two minutes of CPR.”
Ross, who is engaged to Jude’s mum Chelsea, 25, kept calm during the moment and it was only later he reflected on what had happened.
He said: “Me and my partner react differently. I am quite good under pressure like that and she is terrible.
“She had all her family in at the time and they had to leave because they basically thought he was gone at that point.
“I just had to do what I had to do. I think afterwards I wasn’t good at expressing my emotions, and that is where my music comes in, it is my release.”
Jude spent a few more months in hospitals, including the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow, following the incident.
The youngster, who is now aged 15 months, has had several operations including the successful fitting of a tube in his stomach which allows him to receive the nutrition he needs.
Ross said: “He’s improving every day, it is amazing. There have just been massive steps the past three or four weeks.
“He’s put on a lot of weight, he’s not been sick and he’s not in the hospital as much.
“It’s just a time thing, it’s important he gets stronger.”
The family received a lot of support during Jude’s hospital stay from The Archie Foundation, who Ross is raising money for through his single release.
Ross, who now lives in Aberdeen with his partner and son, said: “We spent a lot of time in hospital and The Archie Foundation does things such as funding rooms for parents to stay in hospital.
“You don’t realise what they do until you need it, and no-one thinks to donate to this charity.”
Ross, who was previously in a band called Velvet Audio, will release this record as a solo artist. He said: “The song is about the experience of that day and what I had to do. I just wrote in the one sitting. Writing it has been cathartic. It is good having something positive come out of that situation.”
The song is released tomorrow via all major digital retailers with proceeds going to The Archie Foundation.
For more, visit https://www. facebook.com/RossTGraham Music/