Baby Oscar survives terrifying convulsions


THE mother of an infant who was airlifted by the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) has thanked the charity for coming to their rescue.


Maria Ellis, 32, from Staithes, near Whitby, was at home with her five children when her 11-month-old Oscar, who also has a twin brother, started having a convulsion.

Miss Ellis said: “I was in the kitchen and had just put the kettle on, and then I went in the sitting room and Oscar was laid on his back and his eyes were glazed over.

“I picked him up and shouted his name and his eyes rolled back so I rang for the ambulance and they talked me through what to do, and I put him in the recovery position. It was very traumatic and I was on my own with all of my boys at home.”

While Miss Ellis was waiting for the emergency services to arrive, her family and friends visited her house to look after the children.

Miss Ellis said: “Oscar was shaking and shivering. The next minute my dad came in and said GNAAS had arrived. The crew tested his blood sugar, and did some tests with the road ambulance crew who were there, and checked his breathing, before deciding to take him to hospital.”

After receiving treatment by the GNAAS paramedic and doctor team, Oscar and his mum were airlifted by the charity to James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough.

Miss Ellis said: “GNAAS are just amazing, the crew were absolutely fantastic and they got him to hospital so quickly. We flew to James Cook and it only took about ten minutes and we were there.”

Oscar was taken to the emergency department where they identified that he had suffered a febrile convulsion, most likely trigged by tonsillitis.

Oscar’s temperature rose up to 40C in the evening and eventually started dropping down in the early hours of the morning the next day.

He’s now back home and Miss Ellis said that Oscar is back to his normal “cheeky” self.

Translate »