Co Derry parents raise over £37,000 to buy neonatal equipment to help others after 'most traumatic day' of their lives

A Co Derry family has raised over £37,000 to buy equipment they wish they’d had at the neonatal unit that saved their newborn son after the ‘most traumatic day’ of their lives. When Mary Angela and Johnny Taylor set off for Antrim Area Hospital excited to welcome their twins into the world in April 2021, they had no idea of the “panic” to come.

But following the delivery of their beautiful daughter Annie they were plunged into “chaos” when her twin brother Leo didn’t follow. Dad, Johnny, wrapped Annie safely in his arms while his wife and mother to their two oldest children, Darragh and Katie Rose, was rushed to theatre and “put under” for an emergency C-section the Taylors say could have been avoided.

Mary Angela told Belfast Live: “The last thing I remember is the black mask and it’s something I do struggle to talk about. I remember saying to them ‘save my baby’.

Read more: Dad running from Dublin-Belfast to help buy lifesaving kit for sick babies

Read more: NI parents giving back to neonatal unit after baby son's life saved

“One of my flashbacks that repeats on me is I remember thinking ‘they can’t hear me’. I was out from that point on and I don’t recall anything until I woke up.

“I can’t imagine how Johnny felt because we were probably away for quite a time. When I did wake up I felt like I was hit by a bus.”

By the time their little lion Leo was delivered, his mum said: “He had a lack of oxygen and it took him five minutes to breathe. They had to intubate him and then they had to make the decision to cool him... for 72 hours... to protect his brain from further damage.

“That afternoon I remember asking the nurses to bring me a [wheel]chair - and they were like ‘you are doing well to go’. I was like ‘no, I need to see him’.

“Johnny had already seen him... and I knew from that he wasn’t well.”

Women's health physio, Mary Angela said the hardest part of seeing her baby in neonatal was because “you missed out on that ability to hold your child”.

“That was very foreign to me because my other two children were straightforward,” she added. “I even missed out with Annie because I had to go under with Leo.

“I suppose that’s where the whole idea with the fundraiser [came from] because if we had that piece of equipment that has been purchased with the fundraising money - that would have made a massive difference to us."

Mary Angela, Johnny and a whole team of fundraisers gave their all over between the twins’ second and third birthdays to raise as much money as possible to buy equipment for the ward through runs, cycles, a cold water dip, yoga and community events supported by local businesses.

That includes a LifeStart baby bed that allows sick babies to stay by mum’s bed, which has already been delivered, and a tiny video camera to guide a breathing tube with minimal disruption, that’s on its way.

Mary Angela said the camera “will make it a smoother process for the little baby and having that piece of equipment would have been lovely because Leo needed to be intubated”.

“It allows you to intubate the baby there and then,” she explained.

“If the mother is not under general anaesthetic they will be able to bond with that child before that child has to go to neonatal.

“They’ll be able to know what they’ve had. My sister, my family knew I had a boy before I did.

“Wee simple things like that are going to make a difference... to a lot of families.

“For us in our situation, even though I was under general anaesthetic, to know Johnny had the opportunity to hold Leo to bond with him before he had to get cooled, that would have massively reduced my birth trauma.”

Mary Angela said idea behind the LifeStart machine stemmed from conversations with the ward sister.

“It meant something to us,” she said. “If we had it, it would have massively reduced my birth trauma. It’s now in Antrim as we speak. It was delivered last week.

“The team also asked if we can get baby assessment toolkits to help monitor babies’ [neurodevelopment] after they come out of neonatal. Any extra money... I have asked if they can use it towards staff wellbeing.

“They saved our son 100% - they acted quick and made the decisions to cool him which is why we have a little boy now that is walking, talking, dancing and doing what he should at three.

“I know we how incredibly lucky we are. We walked out those neonatal doors with our baby and a lot of families don’t.

“Johnny and I both said we will definitely do something when the time is right.

“We knew we were going to give back because that neonatal team not only looked after Leo - they cared for us and they held our hands through very stressful moments. The team of nurses were just phenomenal. They are angels, they really are.”

With two newborns and two other kids to care for, the couple didn’t find the time until the twins turned two to start fundraising. After that they planned a range of events based around the theme of 72 - which was how many hours Leo was cooled to protect his brain.

Johnny said: “All the events just came together - people volunteered their services and came behind us.”

Recalling the day little Leo was born, his dad added: “It was pretty calm at the start... up until Annie’s birth but there was a couple of complications after that.

“It was frustrating the way that it happened and it also was a fairly nervous time for us both. Annie was brought back to the room with me and Mary Angela was taken away.

“They came back and told me Leo had been born. For a long time we didn’t know how Leo was or how severe it was.

“I didn’t know what way Mary Angela was, I didn’t know what way Leo was and I was sitting holding Annie and it was just the two of us there.

“Neonatal were phenomenal. Even just the treatment of ourselves during Covid... we were fit to rotate to spend a bit of time with him. The staff just couldn’t do enough for you - they were amazing.”

While the family “is in a good place” now, Mary Angela added: “I won’t sit here and say it has was easy... it has been the hardest journey of my life.

“It was the most traumatic event I hope we ever have to go through - and it took me a long time to realise I needed help myself.

“I’m still going to counselling on a monthly basis and I am not afraid to say.

“I would encourage anybody who is having birth trauma to reach out and get support because you can’t do it yourself.”

For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our daily newsletter here.