Jake's birthday truly special
A FIRST birthday is always a reason to celebrate but for little Jake Sorrell's parents it's particularly poignant. It's a wonder Jake ever reached the milestone after being born almost lifeless and spending his first day in intensive care.
A FIRST birthday is always a reason to celebrate but for little Jake Sorrell's parents it's particularly poignant.
It's a wonder Jake ever reached the milestone after being born almost lifeless and spending his first day in intensive care.
Doctors told mum Catherine and dad, Clinton, that their baby's chances of survival were slim at best, and that if by some miracle he did survive, he would suffer severe brain damage.
But now the Sorrell's are delighted to say “many happy returns” to their healthy baby boy.
Catherine, 35, lives with Jake and 34-year-old husband Clinton in Rushbury Close, Ipswich.
She retold the moving story of Jake's birth, saying: “He was already a week overdue and on the eighth day he stopped moving.
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“I called Ipswich Hospital and they put me on a monitor. Jake's heart was beating but it was beating very slowly and he still wasn't moving.”
The maternity team rushed to carry out an emergency caesarean because Mrs Sorrell wasn't going into labour.
She said: “He was almost dead when he finally came out and was rushed upstairs for life saving treatment.
“I wasn't able to see him for the first nine hours of his life.”
Doctors found that Jake had swallowed meconium - the earliest stools of an infant, composed of things ingested during the time spent in the uterus.
Mrs Sorrell said: “He was having fits for the first three days and we were told his chance of survival was slim. Even if he did live, there would be a strong chance he would have brain damage.”
Incredibly Jake started to make a gradual recovery and by the time he was two weeks old he was taking milk through a tube.
A recent MRI scan showed Jake did have some signs of brain damage.
The experts suspect it could show up in his speech but his family will have to wait and see how it affects him.
For now, mum and dad are just pleased by be able to wish their son a happy birthday and send a heartfelt message to Ipswich Hospital.
Mrs Sorrell said: “The staff at the special care baby unit saved Jake's life. They were absolutely amazing.”
