Tears as Glasgow paramedics meet tiny baby they saved

A Glasgow mum has introduced her son to the three paramedics who saved his life after a dramatic premature arrival.

Gemma Maxwell could not hold back the tears when she came face to face with the medics who saved her baby.

Finlay arrived unexpectedly and very quickly at 26 weeks and the ambulance crew saved his life by administering CPR on the tiny baby.

The three paramedics said it had been one of the best outcomes of their careers.

Five days before the first national lockdown last March, Gemma went into labour despite not being due for another 14 weeks.

She gave birth to a tiny and very unwell baby in her living room.

"The evening before I wasn't feeling great and I asked my mum to stay," Gemma told the BBC.

"In the morning I felt a rush of really bad pain, my waters broke and we called an ambulance.

"My mum was on the phone to the paramedics and she ended up delivering the baby. The technicians were great on the phone telling her what to do and telling me what to do."

Gemma said she was terrified to push, feeling that if she did, the baby might not make it.

But she did and Finlay was born at 07:52. He weighed one pound 13 oz, around 835g - about the weight of a bag of sugar or a small pack of nappies.

About 30 seconds later the paramedics arrived.

Harry Trodden and his partner Nikki Wilson arrived in an ambulance at the same time as response paramedic Sheila Parr. None of them had been told any details. All they knew was it was the imminent delivery of a baby.

Sheila said: "The mother was on the floor against the couch and the baby was in her arms. It was blue and floppy and it wasn't crying and it just looked weak."

Without a moment to spare, Harry sprung into action.

"We cut the cord, saw mum was okay then grabbed the baby and ran to the ambulance to set up the monitoring equipment and start CPR on the baby.

"He was blue, making very little respiratory effort. The heart was barely beating and it was a long eight minutes to the hospital, working on the baby."

Harry explained how delicate he had to be to resuscitate such a tiny body.

"Because of the size of the baby it was with two fingers. I was giving him oxygen with a bag and even the smallest mask we had was too big. I had to be gentle with the CPR and not go too deep. At 26 weeks the lungs are not fully developed, so I had to be careful.

"I was kneeling on the floor with the baby on the bed. By the time we got to the hospital, Finlay was starting to pink up with a bit of colour, which was a relief."

Nikki drove the ambulance while Harry worked in the back.

Having just returned to work two months prior after having her own baby, she felt for Gemma and knew they had her baby's life in their hands.

She said: "It was a scary drive knowing what was going on in the back and every minute counts . My heart was in my mouth the full way to hospital."

Now 15 months old and thriving, Finlay is a healthy, happy baby. And at 10 kilos, almost ten times his birth weight, he is a different boy to the newborn delivered by his gran with help on the phone from ambulance control.

It was Gemma's idea to meet the three three paramedics who worked together to help Finlay.

"All I have thought for the last 15 months is what do you say to the people who have saved your baby's life? It was emotional.

"I don't remember much about the morning, so we pieced parts of the day together. I think we absolutely had to do this so I could process that morning and say thank you. It was healing."

Bearing gifts of a superhero dog, an ambulance car and a tiny paramedic helmet, the three paramedics were also touched.

Nikki said: "It was emotional and I was happy to see a healthy little boy.

"A week after Finlay was born I delivered a full term baby in the same side of the city and took them to the same maternity unit. Nosiness and concern got the better of me and I asked the consultant there who told me he was doing well up in the ICU, so that was great news to pass on to Harry.

"To get the call to say that he was fit and healthy at 15 months, I was over the moon to hear that. It was a great outcome, knowing you've done your job right. It's one I will never forget."

Sheila added: "I am delighted and empowered by the whole experience. I have been a paramedic for 20 years and this is one of the most memorable cases. What a great contrast. He is happy and delightful, a real joy."

Gemma has found the reunion healing.

She said: "We had to do this. Thanks to them he is amazing now, really catching up to where he should be. You would never know he had such a rocky start to life.

"Finlay absolutely loved them, it was as if he knew them. "

Finlay's dad Niall Mackenzie added: "If it wasn't for them, he wouldn't have made it."