Newborn baby battling meningitis was saved after medics dunked her head in icy water when her heart rate soared to 320 beats per minute
- Holly Hutchinson was rushed to hospital in Newcastle on New Year’s Eve
- Medics tried to lower 12-day-old’s heart rate by dunking her head in cold water
- Later they were able to stabilise her heart rate by using other shock methods
- She had been diagnosed with meningitis on Boxing Day but was discharged
Medics saved a new-born baby with meningitis whose heart rate had soared to 320 beats per minute after dunking her head in a bucket of icy water to shock the organ.
Holly Hutchinson was taken to Sunderland Royal Hospital on New Year’s Eve after her mother Jenny, a paediatric nurse, noticed her condition had deteriorated.
Holly, who was born on December 19, had been diagnosed with viral meningitis on Boxing Day but discharged two days later.
Medics at Sunderland Royal tried to correct her heart rhythm and resorted to submerging her head for five seconds in cold water.
Holly Hutchinson on the road to recovery with her father Ian at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle in January
Jenny Hutchinson with Holly while she recovered at the hospital in Newcastle in January
Holly Hutchinson is making great progress 10 months on
But after several attempts to shock her heart using other methods failed, she was rushed to the Freeman Hospital where the process was repeated and she was intubated.
Her father Ian said: ‘Right in front of our eyes, we could see the blood retracting from Holly’s limbs to try and protect her core, making her go grey.
‘It was absolutely horrendous to see our newborn become so ill, so quickly. Watching her being submerged in the water and be prodded with needles like a pin cushion is something no parent wants to see.
‘It was so hard knowing there was nothing we could do.
‘When we arrived at Freeman Hospital we were taken into a side room and left there while they tried to save Holly’s life.
‘We felt like we were there for an age, but we knew she was in the best possible place.
Ian Hutchinson is running the Great North Run to raise funds for the Sick Children´s Trust
‘Holly is a little legend, and she started to fight back after they shocked her heart and various other procedures.
‘It was only 10 minutes until midnight on New Year’s Eve when we received the news that her heart had gone back into its normal rhythm and was stable.
‘Suddenly fireworks were going off and people were cheering – it was surreal.
‘If we’d arrived 20 minutes later, Holly might not be here today.’
As fireworks went off outside, stunned parents Jenny and Ian were given the happy news that Holly was recovering.
Now the pair are going to take part in the Great North Run to raise funds for the Sick Children’s Trust, which helped them by giving them a place to stay at the hospital, and the Children’s Heart Unit Fund (CHUF).
Despite the bleak initial outlook, Holly made an incredible recovery spending just 10 days there before being discharged home to Gateshead.
Mr Hutchinson was full of praise for the help they received from the Sick Children’s Trust, as it meant they could stay nearby while Holly, who has an older sister called Emily, recovered.
He said: ‘It’s completely underappreciated how important it is to be together as a family when your child’s in hospital.
‘Being with Emily and Jen made such a difference, it kept me sane.
Holly Hutchinson with her big sister Emily
‘The Sick Children’s Trust takes away the stress of being separated so you don’t have to worry about it.
‘You can just focus on getting your child home.’
He said training for the Great North Run has been tough, adding: ‘But if Holly can hold on with a heartbeat of 320, a half marathon should be pretty simple right?’
To support his fundraising, visit: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ian-hutchinson35
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