Son’s 2nd Birthday is time to reflect for parents who credit Children’s Air Ambulance with saving his life

As Isle of Wight toddler, Blaize Dix, celebrates his second birthday today (10^th June) his parents will take a moment to think about how grateful they are to the Children’s Air Ambulance who they credit with saving his life.

“We are very thankful that he has reached another birthday. It is a time of reflection for us. Without the helicopter transfer from our local hospital to the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit in Southampton, which only took seven minutes, he might not be alive today,” says mum Tash.

She and the rest of the family – husband Nigel and older son Jonah (9) – are planning a trip to the park for Blaize’s birthday so that he can try out the bicycle he is being given as a present.

“It’s my mum’s birthday on the same day so we will meet her as well and have a socially distanced celebration together,” says Tash.

They will enjoy seeing Blaize on his first-ever bike in the knowledge that the milestone may never have been reached if he hadn’t got the lifesaving medical care he needed on the mainland in January 2019.

When he was seven months old, Blaize choked on his lunch at nursery and was rushed to St Mary’s Hospital in Newport. His left lung had collapsed after he inhaled a piece of food, his tiny body was limp and he had stopped breathing.

When Tash and dad Nigel arrived there were 17 medical staff doing everything they could to save their little boy’s life.

“I ran into the children’s resus room to find them fighting to save my baby boy from choking. He was blue, his eyes rolled back, his SATS were low. They fought to resuscitate him and clear his airway as his left lung collapsed.”

“They were running around trying to find the right equipment to stabilise our baby as the hospital has been downgraded and all paediatric intensive care and complex or pre 32 week-neonatal cases now go to Southampton. It was pretty horrific to watch and listen to. We had to put our trust in a general surgeon.” says Tash.

Thankfully, the doctors were able to stabilize Blaize’s oxygen levels and he was anesthetised and intubated.

But his life was still hanging in the balance and it was vital he got to the specialist paediatric care he needed as quickly as possible.

“It was absolutely terrifying. He was losing his life. His oxygen levels were dangerously low and his carbon dioxide levels dangerously high. His body was in so much stress he was going to flat line,” says Nigel.

Blaize’s lung would be filling up with mucus and he was at risk of infection and contracting pneumonia if he didn’t receive further treatment.

The Children’s Air Ambulance was mobilised and flew from its base in Oxford to Southampton General Hospital to pick up colleagues from the Southampton Oxford Retrieval Team (SORT) and take them to the Isle of Wight.

Tash will never forget the moment the helicopter arrived at the hospital.

“When we heard it land everyone in that room breathed a sigh of relief. There was suddenly an atmosphere of calm and stability. You could see the panic go from the eyes of the medical staff. It was the moment that Nigel and I thought it was going to be OK,” she says.

The retrieval team checked Blaize and prepared him for the 7-minute flight to the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit back at Southampton.

While this was happening Nigel collected Jonah and drove and took the ferry to Southampton – a journey that took two hours and 15 minutes.

Tash stayed with Blaize and accompanied him on the helicopter.

An ENT consultant was waiting on the helipad at Southampton when the air ambulance landed and Blaize was rushed to intensive care to be monitored. Later that evening he was taken to the operating theatre for a bronchoscopy which confirmed that there was no infection in his damaged lung.

“Being able to get from St Mary’s to Southampton in seven minutes is phenomenal. The Children’s Air Ambulance saved his life. The doctors who saw him when we got there said that the speed of his arrival meant that there hadn’t been time for an infection to develop,” says Tash.

It was the news that the family, who were now together again after their separate journeys, were so desperate to hear.

“The Children’s Air Ambulance got Blaize to where he needed to be quickly. There was no panic about the logistics of driving and getting a ferry like there had been for me – and hoping that the weather conditions were OK and the ferry was sailing,” says Nigel.

Blaize was kept intubated and under sedation for 48 hours and was given antibiotics to ensure that his lungs remained clear of infection. When he regained consciousness, remarkably he was considered well enough to go home.

“He pinged back like a little phoenix and was soon laughing and being the little live wire we love so much,” says Tash.

Now – 17 months after the choking incident – Blaize is off all medication and as energetic as ever.

“He can count to ten, he loves playing with building blocks and his new joy is to run through the house in the morning and giving everyone a kiss. I have never known such a cuddly, adorable, kind and loving little boy,” she adds.