Paisley, Scotland > Berkshire
400 miles
Ellie and Alex were enjoying a mini-break in Scotland – their last holiday before they had their first baby – when Ellie went in to labour seven weeks early. The couple rushed to the local hospital and their son Jamie was born.
He was immediately placed in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Paisley Hospital and was put into an incubator under ventilation because he couldn’t breathe on his own. Ellie and Alex were delighted at the safe arrival of Jamie but were worried about what the future would hold for him. They were over 400 miles from home and didn’t know how long their little boy would need to stay in Scotland for.
The couple only planned on staying in Scotland for a few days but now faced up to a two months stay in the NICU at Paisley. Even if Jamie progressed enough to be able to go home, they had no idea how they were going to transfer him home. Would he have to endure an eight hour road journey? They felt stranded and hopeless. Ellie says:
“We were eight hours away from our family and friends, and struggling emotionally without them. We thought we might be stranded in Scotland for a long time. We were anxious about being off work and worried about how long we could afford to stay in hotels in Glasgow.”
Despite their concerns, Jamie made good progress and after two weeks in the NICU, he was strong enough to be transferred to a hospital closer to the family home. Ellie and Alex were relieved to hear the news!
“This was amazing news but we were warned it could take a while because the hospitals had to agree who would arrange the air ambulance, as it was too far to go by road.”
Lucy Air Ambulance for Children was contacted about flying Jamie the 400 mile distance home. Within just a few days, Lucy Air Ambulance for Children (Lucy AAC) flew Jamie from the hospital in Scotland to the Royal Berkshire Hospital just a few days before Christmas. Alex drove home to Berkshire and met them at the hospital – the new family of three were finally home. Ellie says:
“We were over the moon when we heard that Lucy AAC were organising and funding his transfer. Without Lucy AAC we don’t know how long it would have taken to be transferred and how long we would have been stranded so far from our families.The charity arranged everything; organising the plane, the medical team who would take care of us during the flight and ensuring there was a rigorous handover between the hospitals. We were introduced to each member of the flight crew personally who went above and beyond to make us feel comfortable and reassured – we knew our baby was in safe hands.”
After two weeks alone in Scotland, Ellie and Alex had an emotional reunion with friends and family – they were finally able to share the excitement of Jamie’s arrival! Arriving home, Ellie said, “Our baby still needed a lot of support in hospital but being back home with our family around us made everything so much easier.” Alex was able to go back to work and Ellie was able to visit Jamie at the hospital, concentrating on his health and not having to worry about the cost of hotels and living away from home.
Jamie made incredibly quick progress and was discharged a week after the transfer. Ellie says:
“We had never heard of this incredible charity and couldn’t believe the lengths they went to, to care for us and our baby. This is an amazing charity doing important work and we will be forever grateful to Lucy Air Ambulance for bringing our baby boy safely back home. There aren’t many babies who are flown VIP on a chartered plane before they are even one month old, and our boy will be hearing this story for a long time to come!”
Latest news & events
Our time for growth
Over the next few weeks and months, you will see our charity’s brand evolve from ‘Lucy Air Ambulance for Children’ to ‘Lia’s Wings’. We are going into the next chapter of our charity’s evolution with a new identity and expanded purpose. … Read More
Lia’s Legacy
Over the next few weeks and months, you will see Lucy Air Ambulance for Children’s brand change to celebrate an incredibly special little girl, Emilia Schoennagel, whom the world sadly lost unexpectedly in September 2022. … Read More
Lucy AAC Summer Skydive
‘Take the leap for Lucy! Join us on Tue 18th July at Hinton-in-the-Hedges Airfield in Northamptonshire and experience the thrill of jumping 10,000ft at 120mph by taking part in a tandem skydive for Lucy AAC. … Read More
At Home Winter Wonderwheels 2023
Grab your mask, cape & winter warmers, Superheroes – we’re racing Pole to Pole! For this virtual Winter Explorer mission, you’ll be remotely uniting with your SUPER TEAM to race 25,123km from north to south, taking in some super snowy destinations along the way! … Read More
At Home Superheroes 2023
Get ready for an epic, virtual round-the-world race! You can join the fun wherever & however you wish & have a whole month in which to complete your super goal. Best of all, you’ll be remotely combining your powers with hundreds of fellow Superheroes & Sidekicks, from far & wide, all pulling together for this super-flexible mission! So sign up now, your SUPER TEAM needs you! … Read More
Superhero Tri 2023
Superhero Tri is a super fun sporting mission for people with disability – aka Superheroes. These superheroes call the shots – there are no cut-off times and all kinds of ‘gadgets and gismos’ are welcome on the course, from floats and boats to powerchairs, adaptive bikes, trikes and more. … Read More
Charity Family Fun Day rescheduled to Saturday 22nd April 2023
Join us on Saturday 22nd April 2023 when we will be holding a Charity Family Fun Day at West Park Leeds RUFC. From 11am-3pm, there will be fun activities for the whole family including: a 75ft inflatable assault course, bouncy castle, live music, fete games, BBQ, bar and much more! … Read More
