It's every parent's worst nightmare to have their newborn baby whisked away from them moments after birth. That's exactly what happened to Emma Vincent and Ross Kennedy, who then had to wait 12 days to finally meet their son Remy.
But today he is a smiling bundle of joy, having beaten everything that's been thrown at him during his short life. Remy was Emma and Ross' second child, but joy soon turned to anguish when Emma, 27, was taken to hospital after suffering a haemorrhage at home.
Emma, who had tested positive for Covid, was rushed into the operating theatre for an emergency C-section to save her 27-week-old baby's life, reports TeessideLive. It was successful, but little Remy was quickly taken away to be isolated, as he too had tested positive for Covid.
Emma and Ross, 30, from Loftus, North Yorkshire, then faced an agonising 12-day wait to meet their second child. James Cook Hospital in Middlesbrough, where Remy had been born and was being cared for, called to tell them their baby was very poorly and they needed to come immediately.
"It's a phone call no parent should ever get," Emma said. "As we drove we knew that the day we got to meet our baby could be the day we also have to say goodbye. Seeing his 2lb 7oz body hooked up machines keeping him alive was heartbreaking."
It was one thing after another for poor Remy. He contracted a form of sepsis, which meant he needed a ventilator. The sepsis then triggered a bleed on his lungs, causing one to collapse and pneumonia to set in. Emma and Ross were then told Remy had fluid on his heart and two brain bleeds.
“The amazing doctors and nurses continued to do anything possible, and he started improving,” said Emma. "The doctors and nurses in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) are worth their weight in gold, we will be forever in their debt.
"Soon after he was put on a 10-day intensive course of steroids. From then he came on in leaps and bounds and bit by bit he grew bigger and stronger.”
Baby Remy fought hard and, after 79 agonising days, Emma and Ross got the news they had been waiting for - they were allowed to take him home to meet his big sister, Aela, just in time for Christmas.
Emma said: "The experience as a whole was horrendous. Covid made it even worse. I didn't meet my baby until he was over a week old due to isolation rules. Even then we had to wear PPE, I didn't touch his bare skin without a glove on until day 21, never mind hold him.
"It's something I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy, I still look at him in awe, wondering how he managed to get through everything he did. But so far so good. He's hitting his milestones as he should and thriving."
Throughout it all, the family was supported by a local charity, Neoangels, which works hard to support the families of sick and premature babies at James Cook Hospital and North Tees.
Emma and Ross say they will always be in their debt: “Because of Covid restrictions we had to keep two cars on the road in order to visit the baby and also take care of our five-year-old daughter Aela. Neoangels helped with the expense of driving and parking and also gave us vouchers to enable us to get something to eat while visiting.
"Eating was the last thing on our minds! We couldn't be any more grateful. The least we could do is raise awareness of the charity so they can continue helping other parents go through the unimaginable.”
