“I looked down at Pepe; he was a funny colour, and his eyes weren’t focusing. We called 999 and we were asked to count Pepe’s breaths, which were very fast. Then everything happened very quickly,” Ana explains. A first responder, two ambulances and East Anglian Air Ambulance (EAAA) were sent to the family’s home in Norfolk. When Ana heard the helicopter coming into land, she realised the seriousness of the situation.
“At this point, Pepe was unconscious. Everything was a blur as a flurry of people helped. The critical care crew from East Anglian Air Ambulance took charge. One of the tests they carried out was on Pepe’s blood. I saw the clinicians look at each other; it felt significant,” Ana says.
Pepe had undiagnosed Type One Diabetes and had slipped into a diabetic coma. It was a race against time.
“EAAA’s Critical Care Paramedic, Andy, and Doctor, Dan, used a driver to insert a needle into Pepe’s shin to get fluids into him. They explained every step they were taking.”
This would deliver fluids directly into Pepe’s bone marrow that would stabilise his condition. Then there was a discussion about which hospital to go to. It was decided the quickest option would be to transfer Pepe by land ambulance to the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital, which was just a short distance away.
“I thought Andy and Dan’s role would then be over, but they travelled by road with Pepe.”The EAAA crew did a full handover with the Resus team at NNUH. Pepe was put into an induced coma before later being transferred to Addenbrooke’s Hospital. He spent two days in PICU, two weeks in high dependency and then two weeks phased return.
“This was just the beginning of our journey as it was a long road to recovery. We didn’t know at this point whether Pepe would be brain damaged or have suffered organ failure. Thanks in part to the help of EAAA, he recovered and is alive, well and is an amazing child; he is loving, empathetic and I am so proud of him. His greatest achievement is how well he deals with his diabetes every day.”