‘I SAVED MY SON’S LIFE 50 TIMES’
A MUM says she’s had to save her youngest son’s life “more than 50 times” because of his severe epileptic seizures.
Joshua Piper, who is just two and a half, suffers as many as 30 seizures every week, which can cause him to stop breathing.
His doting mum Natasha Jones, from Gabalfa, Cardiff, said she has to perform lifesaving CPR on the toddler if the fit is particularly chronic.
She is now aiming to raise £1,500 so she can buy specialist equipment which will keep Joshua safe and alert her when a seizure is occurring.
“He’s had so many seizures that I’ve lost count. I must have saved his life about 50 times since he was born,” said Natasha, 27.
“He cannot be left alone and suffers with developmental delay because of the seizures.”
Joshua was just three months old when he suffered his first seizure at the family’s home.
“I was just lying on the settee with him. One minute he was fine and the next he’d turned blue,” she added.
“I went out of the house to find someone to help and my neighbour answered the door and gave Joshua CPR. I thought I was going to lose my baby.”
Joshua was taken by ambulance to the University Hospital of Wales where doctors carried out numerous tests to determine the cause of the fit.
“They said he may have just choked on his milk but he hadn’t had a bottle for an hour before the seizure,” said Natasha. “They also said he could have been ‘breath-holding’ which is common in babies, but they only tend to last a couple of seconds.”
After spending six days in hospital, Joshua was allowed to return home but just days later the seizures returned and he had to go back several times for further examination.
“Joshua then had a chronic seizure in front of the doctors and went into respiratory arrest. That’s when they diagnosed it as epilepsy,” said Natasha. “We have no idea what causes them but we’re told it’s not hereditary.”
Joshua, who still can’t talk but is able to walk, now has to take six different forms of medication each day.
“If his seizure lasts more than five minutes I have to give him rescue meds,” added Natasha, who also has an eight-year-old son with heart problems.
“When a seizure occurs he just cries out and drops to the floor which has resulted to bumps to head.
“Sleep is difficult too. Sometimes I hear him having seizures in the night.”
Natasha has set up a GoFundMe page in a bid to raise enough money for vital equipment which she says is not offered on the NHS.
She said: “We’d like to get specialist equipment which monitors changes in his heart rate and oxygen levels.
“We’ve looked into getting Joshua a seizure watch which can alert me and his dad that he’s having a seizure even if he’s not with us.”
If you would like to donate go to www.gofundme.com/help-josh-get-his-medical-equipment