A family has handed over a charity cheque to hospital staff who helped save their son’s life moments after he had been born.

Rebecca Buckingham was at the William Harvey Hospital on October 10 last year expecting to give birth to a healthy baby without any complications.

But the situation became a nightmare after her baby Theo suffered breathing problems and was diagnosed with pneumonia in intensive care.

Midwife Liz Perkins acted quickly to give him CPR to keep him alive. Doctors and nurses treated him for several days.

Mum-of-three Rebecca, 40, from Charing Heath, said: “It was expected to be a low risk birth like the birth of my two daughters. But this was crushed as he had undiagnosed pneumonia.

“If it wasn’t for the work of the midwives he could have died. They saved his life.

“They realised very quickly that his condition was deteriorating because he couldn’t breathe when he came out, leading to his heart stopping.

“He needed CPR and resuscitation and was put into a hypothermic blanket to cool him right down. It was horrific and completely unexpected.”

She said along with her husband Chris, 38, they were left not knowing if Theo had pulled through.

Rebecca added: “Doctors began warming him up again after 72 hours and were careful because of the risk of Theo being brain damaged.

“We didn’t know if he lived if he would have any mental or physical difficulties.

“The change was on day five when nurse Melanie Mears came in and told us ‘Theo has something to show you’ and we went to his crib.

“There he was, breathing for himself and free of nearly all the tubes.

“We wept after we held him properly for the first time, just days after we thought we would lose him.

“Then, after eight days we were able to take him home which was amazing. He is now absolutely fine, he is just a normal, happy baby looking forward to a normal life.”

Theo was able to meet his older sisters Jessica and Mia, as well as his grandparents, and celebrated his first birthday earlier this month.

Rebecca’s parents Susan and Frank Pinnington and Chris’s parents Jean and Des Buckingham had organised a charity coffee morning to raise money for the neo-natal ward at the William Harvey Hospital as a gesture of thanks.

They held the coffee morning in Wingham near Canterbury earlier this year, and raised £610 in total.

The family then went back to the hospital to present the cheque, with Theo also able to come along to visit some of the staff who saved his life.

Rebecca added: “The shock was tremendous and still feels raw, but the midwives, nurses and consultant were truly incredible.”