Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
BABY BOY DIES IN DAD’S ARMS
Tears as heartbroken couple lose premature son at seven weeks old
A heartbroken young Airdrie mum whose baby boy was born 15 weeks prematurely had to watch the beloved tot die in his dad’s arms at the age of just seven weeks.
Klaudia and Lennox Francis’ baby son Layton came into the world with a mop of raven hair on August 15, weighing a mere 1lb 11ozs.
But just a couple of months later, the couple received a call from the hospital to report that Layton’s monitor had been going off since 4am and he was “not doing so well”.
A scan confirmed their worst fears – Layton had NEC, which can lead to a perforation that allows the contents of the intestine to leak into the abdomen, causing a dangerous infection.
Tragically, Layton’s condition deteriorated rapidly and he passed away in Lennox’s arms after being transferred to the Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow.
Devastated Klaudia said: “Apart from the nurses, we were the only people who knew him and got to see him every day.
“We have all suffered a loss – a parent, a grandparent.
“Even though it’s sad, you know they have lived their life.
“But it is definitely a different type of grief when it is your own baby.
“Our baby didn’t get a chance to live.”
■ There’s no pain greater than the loss of a child — particularly a baby who doesn’t have a chance at life. In the hope of helping other bereaved families through the heartache, an Airdrie couple are sharing with the Advertiser the story of their shattered dreams for their baby boy, the agony of losing him, and the enduring love they have for their son — and each other.
A grieving young Airdrie mum, whose baby boy was born 15 weeks prematurely, has spoken of her heartache at watching him die in his father’s arms at the age of seven weeks.
Klaudia and Lennox Francis’s baby, Layton, came into the world with a mop of raven hair on August 15, weighing just 1lb 11oz.
While her first-born lay in an incubator in University Hospital Wishaw, Klaudia – who went into labour after 25 weeks and two days – spoke to the Advertiser in September to help highlight Neonatal Intensive Care Awareness Month and the outstanding work of doctors and nurses who were caring for Layton within the specialist unit.
Although in early October little Layton had been vomiting and his heart rate had dropped, tests had ruled out necrotising enterocolitis (NEC) – a serious illness affecting premature babies in which tissues in the intestine become inflamed and start to die.
On October 3, as they were paying their daily hospital visit, doctors told the couple they were pleased with Layton’s progress.
“His breathing was going well. We fed him and did what we did every single day and he looked nice and peaceful,” said Klaudia.
But the following morning, Klaudia received a call from the hospital to report that Layton’s monitor had been going off since 4am, he was not doing so well, and she ought to come.
“Just before I arrived, they decided to put him on a ventilator, which to me was not a huge concern. I knew there was probably another infection, and he was going to be okay,” she said.
“But when I saw him, my goodness, I knew this was serious. His belly was so swollen it looked like it was about to pop. He was on the ventilator, just lying there. He did not look the way a child should look. They had to shave his hair to put a cannula in the side of his head. Doctors were so limited because of the size of him. I called my husband to say the situation is not the best.”
A scan confirmed their worst fears: Layton had NEC, which can lead to a perforation that allows the contents of the
intestine to leak into the abdomen, causing a dangerous infection. Layton’s condition deteriorated rapidly and doctors advised that if he had any chance of survival, he would have to be transferred to the Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow.
“Whatever was needed, we were happy to go with it,” said student nurse Klaudia, 22.
Paramedics arrived from Edinburgh in a specialist ambulance for the transportation of premature babies. “The two ladies were lovely. They told us he was not in good shape and they didn’t know if he was even going to make it,” she continued.
“We didn’t know whether we should stay in Wishaw with him or risk taking him through to Glasgow, knowing he might not make it. My husband was adamant that it was better to try than not to try.”
Paramedics advised the frantic couple to travel in the ambulance with their baby – because, if the worst were to happen en route, they would be able to hold him in their arms. “We got to the hospital and I just felt a massive relief. I thought, ‘okay, we have made it. It is now up to the surgeons to save our baby,” said Klaudia, who waited with Lennox for 20 minutes in the parents’ room while nursing staff tended to Layton.
“Four or five doctors, surgeons, people who were in charge came in, saying he is too far gone. Even if they tried the surgery, he would not pull through. After such a stressful day, he was still with us. My husband felt that anything should be done to save him. But I felt I would rather he pass away in our arms than have him die all on his own in a surgical theatre.
“Even just looking at him – the bottom half of his body was deteriorating. His feet were turning purpley black. There was nothing else that could be done.
“The nurses moved us to a quiet, separate room. Not wanting to disturb us, the nurses watched his monitor from outside. It meant it could just be the three of us, and that was comforting. My husband was holding him in his arms and the whole time, we were looking at the monitor.”
Klaudia, whose parents were making the dash to the hospital to see the grandson they had not yet been allowed to meet due to Covid restrictions, continued: “He had been doing so well the day before. We were so looking forward to seeing him breathing on his own. We’d hoped that in the next few weeks, he’d move to transitional care.
Two days before, we had gone to look at baby cots.
“When he was born so early, we had wondered if he could make it a day, or a week. After seven weeks, we got that hope, we really thought he will be okay, he will survive and we will have him home.”
Sadly, Layton passed away in his daddy’s arms 10 minutes before his grandparents arrived at the hospital. They saw their grandson for the first time after he was already gone.
Lennox and Klaudia decided to return home to Airdrie after spending a few hours with their baby, rather than stay overnight in a room in the hospital reserved for bereaved parents.
During the night, nurses took clay imprints of Layton’s hand and feet – a keepsake the devastated couple will forever treasure.
“The next day, we didn’t know if we were strong enough to see him again in that way, but I’m glad we did,” said Klaudia, who received a Simba memory box and another from University Hospital Wishaw containing the things that had surrounded him during his seven weeks there.
“The charge nurse had him all prepared. We had a lovely quiet room where he was just lying in a cold cot. He looked so lovely. It was comforting to see him.
“The nurses asked if we wanted to bathe him. We didn’t know if we were strong enough, but we are both glad we did it. It was hard. The first ever time we bathed him was when our baby was gone. It was not the way it should have been.”
Klaudia and Lennox saw their son, dressed in a tiny sleepsuit and hat, at the funeral home in Coatbridge four days before they said their last goodbye, and again on October 18 – the day of the funeral at Holytown Crematorium.
“He looked all pink again. He was beautiful. We kept on looking at him, lying in his little white coffin,” said Klaudia.
Like any excited expectant parents, Klaudia and her husband had so many hopes and dreams that now were not to be realised for the baby she had been carrying.
“Apart from the nurses, we were the only people who knew him and got to see him every day, to know how funky he was, how he’d let you know when he wasn’t happy. He was a little diva, for sure,” she said.
“Two days before he passed away, we were thinking about what we would do when he gets a bit bigger. We didn’t want him to have a Glasgow accent. Where would we send him to school? My husband is originally from Antigua. We thought maybe we would have to move away for a few years and send him to nursery and primary school there, so he could pick up his daddy’s culture.
“We were interested in how he will look. We were both excited to see the colour of his eyes. I have green eyes and my husband has brown eyes. We were thinking his eyes might be an unusual colour. We wondered what our little boy would be like, growing up. What gets us through is that he is not suffering. No baby or child should go through this. The days or weeks or months of their lives should not be like this.
“There were days when I would be in the hospital with him and he would go through all these procedures being done to him. I would try so hard not to cry, just looking at him. I would go home and cry my eyes out about all he had to go through, all the suffering. It is comforting to know his suffering has ended.
“Sleeping in that coffin, he has never looked so peaceful before. No-one was ever going to hurt him anymore and that is something that brings us comfort.
“Something deep down says yes, we will pull through. Some people end up falling apart in this situation. For us, it made us stronger as a couple.
“We’ve had people say you are young and healthy and you’ll have more kids in the future. We know we’ll try again when we feel the time is right. But all I want is Layton. He is our first baby boy. No other child in the future will ever replace him.”
She continued: “We have all suffered a loss – a parent, a grandparent. Even though it’s sad, you know they have lived their life. But it is definitely a different type of grief when it is your own baby. Our baby didn’t get a chance to live.
“Why give him the seven weeks of suffering and then take him away from us without giving him the chance to fight?”
Layton passed away four days before the start of Baby Loss Awareness Week, during which Klaudia drew comfort from reading the stories of other women who had lost a baby and have gone on to live their lives.
“On good days, when I’m laughing, I feel guilty for feeling happy,” she said.
“But you cannot sit crying. He would not want us to be miserable. Even though our baby has gone now, we are still alive. We need to look after each other more than ever, knowing deep down that our baby is always going to be with us.”
Added Lennox: “We want to express our heartfelt appreciation for the care we had at the Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow and at University Hospital Wishaw. They were very comforting, before, during and after the entire process. They took care of the entire family, not just Layton. We want to thank all the doctors and nurses – so many for just one baby in such a short time. The care they gave us was amazing. Layton meant the world to us.”
Four or five doctors, surgeons, people who were in charge came in, saying he is too far gone