Hello!

9 Comments

Parents who lost their baby boy in a tragic choking accident have spoken out about why they let a television crew film the last days of his life.

Nine-month-old Leyton choked on a piece of plastic, sadly despite being revived by doctors he died in hospital days later.

His parents, Adam and Serena, allowed Channel 4 programme Inside Birmingham Children’s Hospital to film his fight for life.

The heartbreaking episode, which aired last night, saw Leyton being taken to hospital after his father tried to revive him at home when his heart stopped beating following the choking incident, reports Daily Mail.

Adam and Serena explained in the highly emotive show why they chose to keep the cameras rolling on Leyton’s battle to stay alive, saying they wanted to pay tribute to their son and the staff at the hospital where he was treated.

They said: ‘All parents know the dangers of choking, but even when you think you’ve done all you can to protect your baby, accidents can always happen.

‘We both decided to share our story for a few different reasons.


RELATED ARTICLES:

St John Ambulance: How to save a choking baby

Choking hazards and first aid


‘In memory of our son who put up such a brave battle, to show people just how incredible the staff and facilities are at Birmingham Children’s Hospital and more than anything, if by watching this programme it makes parents even more aware of hazards, and saves just one little life and another family going through what we did and will continue to struggle with for the rest of our lives, then his life wasn’t in vain.’

Leyton stopped breathing after he accidentally swallowed a small piece of plastic and his father, who’d completed a first aid course, was forced to perform CPR when his son’s heart stopped.

Following a conversation with a 999 operator, Adam carried out chest compressions while waiting for an ambulance.

Doctor’s at the hospital managed to re-start Leyton’s heart and place him in an induced coma.

After a series of tests, they tried to wake him two days later but the little boy failed to respond and an MRI scan showed abnormalities. He died three days later.

Serena told the Birmingham Mail that the couple were approached after they arrived at the hospital. She reveals:

‘We didn’t expect to want to continue in the event of losing our beautiful boy. But once it became clear that Leyton wasn’t going to get any better, we both felt an overwhelming sense of wanting to do something to raise awareness.’

Serena explains her grief as an all-consuming ‘emptiness’, saying: ‘It’s almost like you don’t feel like you. There’s that emptiness. It consumes your whole body. It’s a strange feeling.’

Such a terribly sad story. We are so thankful to this family for sharing their heartbreaking experience to help raise awareness to other families. It is something all parents need to be aware of.

You might like to read some more recent content that we have shared this week:

The thrifty mother who feeds her family for just $100 A WEEK!

Some of the results from the latest Child Health Poll may shock you

Jamie and Jools Oliver are totally smitten with their fifth child

Six-month old baby becomes the world’s youngest wakeboarder

Share your comments below.

Image via Daily Mail

We may get commissions for purchases made using links in this post. Learn more.
  • Ach poor precious sweetheart, such a brave wee fighter !!
    Thanks for sharing Adam and Serena, watching this sure raises awareness and makes us more cautious ! Blessings to you when you grieve the loss of your wee man Leyton.

    Reply

  • So much courage – broke my heart. The scary thing is, it can happen to anyone, anytime. Thats why they are tragic accidents. If only they could be stopped!! :(

    Reply

  • oh my lord this little fella had put up a very strong fight brave bub. thank you to the family for raiing awareness.

    Reply

  • Poor little child. There are so many risks out there. Risks that we need to be aware of.
    RIP, little Leyton.

    Reply

  • oh my this is such a sad story- so heartbreaking for the family and of course how upsetting for the hospital staff and I can only imagine how gut wrenching it is for the tv crew to film as well :(

    Reply

  • What a tragic accident, I really feel for this family! I also feel bad for the person who lost their baby sister. There’s no one to blame, but I guess there would always be that feeling of guilt. So sad.

    Reply

  • At the age of 4yrs old I found my baby sister, 19 months old, ran over accidentally by my father with his dump truck. I didn’t get the help I needed to process the event that your oldest son is getting because…they didn’t know better. I am so thankful and thrilled to see that you are on the right track with saving him from feeling alone . Would love to hear from you. It would help me……


    • Those who have endured such tragic trauma and had no assistance in coping with such tragic events should see counselling.

    Reply

  • So heartbreaking. Accidents can happen at any moment despite our best efforts.

    Reply

Post a comment
Add a photo
Your MoM account


Lost your password?

Enter your email and a password below to post your comment and join MoM:

You May Like

Loading…

Looks like this may be blocked by your browser or content filtering.

↥ Back to top

Thanks For Your Star Rating!

Would you like to add a written rating or just a star rating?

Write A Rating Just A Star Rating
Join