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Ramsgate mum calls out insensitive helicopter posts on Facebook community groups after baby son airlifted to London hospital

05:00, 28 April 2023

updated: 13:17, 28 April 2023

A young mum says she “felt sick” as online trolls made jokes about a helicopter called to help her one-month-old son after he stopped breathing.

Charlie Evans, from Ramsgate, was faced with every parent’s worst nightmare when doctors decided tiny Axel had to be rushed to a London hospital for urgent care.

Charlie Evans, from Ramsgate, with baby Axel in hospital. Picture: Charlie Evans
Charlie Evans, from Ramsgate, with baby Axel in hospital. Picture: Charlie Evans

But the ordeal was made worse as people on a Facebook residents group made “insensitive” comments trivialising the air ambulance being scrambled.

One person asked if the helicopter could be “a little less noisy”, while another joked they “might get one” to avoid traffic in the area.

Ms Evans, 19, said: “I saw most of the comments and jokes as my son was in the helicopter and in the London hospital – they made me feel sick.”

The teenager’s ordeal began on Saturday when she called 111 as she was concerned about feeding issues with her baby.

A non-emergency ambulance arrived at their home, but the crew noticed something serious was wrong.

Axel was taken to the QEQM Hospital in Margate before he was airlifted to the Evelina Children's Hospital in London. Picture: Charlie Evans
Axel was taken to the QEQM Hospital in Margate before he was airlifted to the Evelina Children's Hospital in London. Picture: Charlie Evans

Mum-of-three Ms Evans recalled: “When the paramedics got him into the ambulance, they noticed his lips and eyes were a bit blue and that he was pausing when he was breathing.

“When we got to the QEQM Hospital in Margate he was taken to the resuscitation unit and they were all very helpful, making sure he was OK and doing tests.

“But then he stopped breathing completely. He had to have a breathing tube put in, and an air ambulance was contacted to bring him to the Evelina Hospital.

“The doctors, consultants and nurses who helped while he was in the QEQM - especially in the beginning when I was on my own - made sure not only that he was OK but that I understood what was going on and that he was going to be fine.”

Ms Evans says although Axel had stopped breathing, his heart was still beating.

The original post shared on the New Thanet Chat group about the helicopter landing
The original post shared on the New Thanet Chat group about the helicopter landing

“But at the time I didn’t know that,” she added.

“I just started crying. My baby, who is not even a month old, stopped breathing. I thought I was going to lose him.”

While Ms Evans and her baby were being transferred to the Evelina in Westminster, she was shocked to read the Facebook posts making light of the situation.

A picture of the air ambulance had been shared on the New Thanet Chat group, which has almost 50,000 members, with the caption: “Guess what?”

One person responded: “Seems the only sensible way to get through the traffic in this s***hole at the moment. I might get one.”

Some of the comments on one of the posts on the New Thanet Chat group on Facebook
Some of the comments on one of the posts on the New Thanet Chat group on Facebook

Another user added: “I can't even go shopping nowadays without someone on Thanet Chat spotting me.

“I would have used the car, honestly. But have you tried getting around [Westwood Cross] recently?”

The man who shared the post then uploaded another, writing: “To the person flying the helicopter over my house: can you be a bit less noisy as you woke up my tortoise?”

Ms Evans commented on the posts to say her son had been airlifted to hospital, explaining that the helicopter is “the reason he is still alive”.

He was still at the Evelina yesterday but due to be transferred back to the QEQM, having been taken off the breathing tube.

Baby Axel stopped breathing and was airlifted to a London hospital. Picture: Charlie Parker
Baby Axel stopped breathing and was airlifted to a London hospital. Picture: Charlie Parker

“They still don’t know what caused it, but sometimes they never find a reason why it happens,” Ms Evans added.

She has now urged people to be more sensitive when commenting on incidents involving emergency vehicles.

“People need to realise they’re saving people’s lives most of the time, and without them my son could’ve ended up worse than he was,” she said.

“It’s fair enough if people want to post about seeing a helicopter.

“But there is no need for the stupid comments - especially when they don’t know what the helicopter is for.”

“People need to realise they’re saving people’s lives most of the time, and without them my son could’ve ended up worse than he was...”

It is not the first time users have joked about helicopters in the area, as a simple search on the New Thanet Chat group reveals other similar posts.

On February 6, one person posted “helicopter” followed by a laughing face emoji.

The aircraft was revealed to be an air ambulance called to the QEQM Hospital.

Then on December 28, after another post was shared about a helicopter, one person joked: “They are looking for Mick Carter.”

The comment related to a character in EastEnders, played by Danny Dyer, who had previously filmed scenes at Joss Bay in Broadstairs, including one in which he jumps off a cliff and into the water.

The incident turned out to be a search and rescue mission to track down a missing teenager at sea.

A coastguard helicopter was involved in the operation at Westbrook Bay, and the youngster was found later that day.

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