Toddler brought back to life by her older sister blowing a raspberry on her belly in what the family have described as a “magical moment”.

Poppy Smith, now two, suffered hypoxic brain damage on her second birthday and doctors warned her parents that her chances of survival were slim, reports The Mirror.

Just days before she turned two, mum, Amy, went to wake her up, she couldn’t get her to come round.

Dad, Stephen said: “We could feel her heartbeat, but she was unresponsive. We knew there was something seriously wrong. She was breathing but she was sort of gasping for air.”

The next day, Poppy improved and she was taken off the ventilator.

But two days later, on her second birthday, her parents noticed something wasn’t right.

“Her eyes were starting to roll to the back of her head,” said Stephen. “A chest x-ray showed that her lungs were full of fluid and she had another respiratory arrest.

“That night she started to develop twitches and seizures. She was deteriorating fast.”

Two days later, an MRI scan revealed some devastating results.

Stephen added: “When she came back from the scan, doctors took us into a side room and said she had severe hypoxic brain damage.

“I asked if she was going to walk or talk again, but they said they didn’t even know if she was going to survive. When it started to sink in, it was heartbreaking.

“They told us we had to wait and see, but it wasn’t looking good. I just wanted them to tell me that she was going to be ok.”

Medics were able to get Poppy breathing on her own again, but she was still unresponsive.

“She couldn’t feel anything and wasn’t responding to a torch being shone in her eyes,” Stephen said. “We held her, but she was just staring right through us. I’ve never felt pain like that in my life. The heartache was unreal.”

The family, including Poppy’s sisters Elisha, now 14, Macey and brother Alfie, 11, spent Christmas together in the hospital, thinking it could be Poppy’s last.

Stephen explained: “We went to midnight mass on Christmas Eve and lit candles for her. I asked the priest if he could come and give her a blessing.”

On Christmas day , Poppy was moved to a High Dependency Unit and the whole family visited to wish her a happy Christmas.

Big sis sparks a giggle

Stephen explained: “That was the amazing moment when she laughed, as Macey blew a raspberry on her belly.

“It was astonishing. We found out afterwards that it wasn’t uncommon for people in this state to show emotion, but to us it seemed like she was responding.

“Then there were little twitches on her arms and legs. Doctors said it could be spinal reflexes, but I felt like it was so much more.”

Doctors were baffled by Poppy’s remarkable recovery and day by day, she slowly improved – learning to speak and crawl all over again.

Stephen said: “We couldn’t believe it. It’s been just eight weeks. It’s incredible. She’s progressed so much.

“The doctors are baffled. They say that she shouldn’t be doing what she is doing. They are so glad she is, but they didn’t think she would. She’s proving them all wrong.”

What an amazing story!

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Image via The Mirror

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