A YOUNG mum who watched her newborn baby fight for his life plans to raise money for the hospital which saved his life.

Couple Mica Chapman, 18, and Charlie Gill, 18, were horrified when their three-week-old son, Kasey Gill, stopped breathing properly after suffering from a high temperature.

They phoned the out of hours advice line and took him for medical attention but staff thought he had a virus and sent him home.

However, Mica watched him during the night and noticed he was experiencing sleep apnoea - a condition where normal breathing is interrupted and the airflow temporarily blocked.

She said: “Later on that night I knew something wasn’t right with my baby, it was mother’s instinct.

“As he was sleeping I was watching him and his breathing and also keeping an eye on his temperature.

“I phoned 111 a second time as soon as the sleep apnoea started. They advised us to go straight to Broomfield Hospital accident and emergency department.

Mica said: “We were kept in for the night as Kasey had to have a urine sample tested and he was monitored.”

It was found Kasey had an e.coli urine infection and an hour later his condition had deteriorated.

His infection had caused septicaemia and he needed strong antibiotics.

Kasey was sedated and put on a ventilator and was rushed to the children’s intensive care unit at St Mary’s Hospital, in London.

Mica said: “I couldn’t believe my poor little baby was fighting for his life, it was honestly the scariest thing that has ever happened to me.

“No-one could tell us if Kasey was going to pull through or not.

“The Children of St Mary’s Intensive Care charity, Cosmic, paid for me and Charlie to stay in a hotel that was a five minute walk away from the hospital and we are thankful.

“Even though Kasey was sedated we still spoke to him to let him know we were there.”

She added: “Each day Kasey was improving. They slowly turned down the oxygen as he was still fighting and was trying so hard to breathe on his own.”

Six days after Kasey became unwell, he was taken off the ventilator and could breathe by himself.

Two days later he was transferred back to Broomfield Hospital and was then discharged to go home.

Miss Chapman said: “Finally we were allowed to give our boy a cuddle again after nearly a week without holding him. As a thank you to Cosmic, we are trying to raise as much money as possible.”

The family, from Coldnailhurst Avenue, in Braintree, will be organising a fun day with the help of Braintree Kickboxing Academy.