Why we fly

Freddie’s Story

We’re so grateful to the Children’s Air Ambulance. Without them we would have been forced to stay hundreds of miles away from the support of our friends and family for several weeks before Freddie would have been well enough to come home.

Anna, Freddie’s mum

Anna was 33 weeks pregnant and enjoying a friend’s wedding in Leeds when baby Freddie decided to make a surprise appearance. She was immediately taken to Leeds General Infirmary.

Freddie arrived just hours later, healthy but very small and vulnerable being born prematurely.

Shocked by the incredibly swift arrival of Freddie, in a city far away from their family home in London, Anna and her husband Nick were desperate to be allowed to return as a family back to where their home and loving support network were.

However, Freddie had been placed in the Special Care Baby Unit, and was being tube-fed as he hadn’t yet developed his crucial sucking reflex. Doctors also told them that he was far too delicate to endure the five-hour journey by road.

That’s when the Children’s Air Ambulance was called in to help. It took us just one hour to transfer baby Freddie from Leeds to Chelsea and Westminster Hospital to continue his treatment.

So swift was his journey with us and the NHS transfer team Embrace, that little Freddie had settled in to his new hospital for specialist treatment before his mum was discharged from Leeds General Infirmary.

Now little Freddie is at home where he belongs with his loving family.

In fact, little Freddie is doing so well that we invited him to a photo shoot for the Children’s Air Ambulance.

He was so full of life and totally happy, just like any little boy should be. It was amazing to see the difference that specialist treatment and our support has made to Freddie. And we are so proud to be a part of his incredible story.

Thanks to the support and donations we receive from people like you, we can do the job we love and are completely passionate about. That way we can continue to support these critically ill children in their hour of need.