IPSWICH: He was only a few hours old but Gino Catania left a hole in his parent's life when he died shortly after he was born.

Jo Thewlis

IPSWICH: He was only a few hours old but Gino Catania left a hole in his parent's life when he died shortly after he was born.

Baby Gino died in his mother's arms at just 12 hours old, having suffered brain damage during his birth.

Gino's father, Vincenzo, 28, said: “You love that baby so much from the moment he is born without even knowing him.

“We are missing someone we didn't really know.”

Vincenzo and his wife, Laura, 29, were happily expecting the birth of their second child when Laura was rushed to Ipswich Hospital on December 4.

A week overdue, Mrs Catania had been induced when her unborn baby's heart rate suddenly dropped.

Baby Gino was born 20 minutes later but had suffered a lack of oxygen to his brain for around 35 minutes which had caused considerable damage.

Although doctors battled to resuscitate the child, when his vital signs suddenly dropped, staff told the couple their new-born baby would not survive much longer.

Despite plans to transfer the youngster to a specialist hospital in London, the couple decided to let their baby die in peace.

After Gino was baptised, the family were given a quiet room in which to spend their last precious moments with their son, who was buried on Thursday.

Mr Catania, of Cliff Lane, Ipswich, said: “We didn't want him to die alone in an ambulance on the A12, we wanted him with us.

“For his last few moments, we sat there together then he passed away.”

Mr Catania said it was hard to find the words to describe his family's loss.

“I wish I had spent more time with him and heard him cry,” he said. “He didn't even have a chance to have his own personality.

“I don't think we will ever get over this, there will always be a hole there.”

Mr Catania, who is a salon director at Antonio Giovanni hairdressing in Norwich Road, Ipswich, now plans to raise money for vital equipment at the hospital which battled to save their child.

“We were blown away by staff at the hospital,” he added. “The girls there are like angels in waiting.”

Anyone who wants to contribute to the Catania's fund is asked to leave donations at the salon.

Has your family been helped by staff at Ipswich Hospital? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk.