Thinking about starting a family in 2018?  For every 100 couples trying for a baby, between 80 and 90 will be rewarded by a positive pregnancy test within a year.

Today, Caroline Clark, healthy lifestyle midwife at Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, shares her tips on how women can boost their chances of conception and give their baby the healthiest start in life, whether they’re attempting to conceive naturally or through IVF.

“If 2018 is the year you decide to start trying for a baby, you can make some changes right now to improve your chances and ensure a healthy pregnancy from the start,” says Caroline. “We’re here to support you every step of the way.”

1. Stop smoking: If you haven’t already, it’s time to kick the habit. Giving up now, before you become pregnant, will be the best gift you can give your child. Every single cigarette smoked contains more than 4,000 chemicals harmful to an unborn baby. Cigarettes restrict the essential supply of oxygen so their heart has to work harder every time you light up. Stopping now will benefit you and your baby, ensuring harmful gases such as carbon monoxide will be cleared from your body well before you become pregnant.Mums in Hull can text QUIT to 61825 or ring 247111 to book an appointment with a stop smoking advisor. You can also ask your GP for a referral to the stop smoking service. If you live in the East Riding, you can call 0800 9177752 or text quit to 60163 to access free support.
2. Cut out alcohol. If you’re planning on becoming pregnant, the safest approach is not to drink alcohol at all. Men should know that drinking excessively can affect the quality of his sperm and should drink no more than 14 units of alcohol a week spread evenly over three days or more.
3. Folic acid: Take 400 mcg of folic acid every day while you’re trying to conceive and for the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. This helps to prevent birth defects such as spina bifida. Some foods like breakfast cereals and green leafy vegetables contain a natural form of folic acid and while they’re a good idea, take a folic acid supplement as well to make sure you’re getting enough.
4. Get the flu jab: If you’re hoping to become pregnant this year, make sure you get the flu jab. Catching the flu while pregnant can have very serious implications for both mum and baby so get yourself protected now. You may need another jab later in the year.
5. Know your cycle: You’re more likely to get pregnant if you have sex around a day after ovulation when an egg is released from the ovary. This is usually 14 days after the first day of your last period if you’ve got a 28-day cycle.
6. Lose weight: Being overweight can affect your conception chances. Aim for a healthy body mass index (BMI) of between 20 to 25. And it’s not just about women losing weight. Men’s fertility will be lower than normal if they have a BMI of more than 30. Healthy eating programmes such as Weight Watchers or Slimming World can help people shed pounds and make changes to their diet. You can also speak to your GP if you need help.
7. Are your jabs up to date? German measles and other infections can harm your baby if you catch them during pregnancy so make sure your vaccinations are up to date. You can check with your GP practice. If you need the MMR vaccine, you should avoid getting pregnant for one month after the vaccination so use a method of contraception.
8. Look after your mental health. Women who have had severe mental health problems such as bipolar affective disorder, severe depression or psychosis are more likely to become ill during pregnancy or in the first year of giving birth than at other times in their lives. Don’t be afraid to talk to someone like your GP, psychiatrist, support worker, counselling service or a community midwife.
9. Be as active as possible: Thirty minutes of exercise five times a week will prepare the body for pregnancy and childbirth.
10. Prescription medication: Speak to your GP about any prescription medication you are taking before you start trying for a baby. They will be able to tell you which medication is safe and which isn’t and switch you to medication considered safe for use during pregnancy.
11. Cut back on the coffee: Stick to the widely agreed safe level of around two cups of coffee a day while you’re trying to conceive.
12. Stop using recreational or illegal drugs: These have seriously harmful effects on a baby growing in the womb. Babies can also develop withdrawal symptoms if drug use continues into pregnancy.
13. Have sex often: If you’re trying to conceive naturally, having sex every couple of days throughout the month will maximise your chances of becoming pregnant. Many couples find it less stressful than trying to “time” sex to coincide with ovulation.

Almost 1,000 tickets have been snapped up for a major celebration featuring babies born during Hull’s year as City of Culture.

Babies had their footprints taken to create a major piece of art for the “Born Into a City of Culture” project throughout 2017.

Now, Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust is inviting families to the celebration on Wednesday, January 24, at the Guildhall.

Head of midwifery Janet Cairns said: “We have sold almost 1,000 tickets in the first few days to new parents keen to take part in the event.

“This will be a fantastic celebration to mark the end of a really successful project and we hope as many of the families as possible will be able to join us.

“We are so proud to have played a part in Hull’s year as City of Culture and to have given the families of the babies born in the city the chance to contribute to such an important year in Hull’s history.”

All through 2017, babies born in the city had impressions of their feet taken by midwives and midwifery assistants, with the footprints added to specially designed wall panels displayed in the foyer of Hull Women and Children’s Hospital.

New panels featuring the hands of midwives as tree trunks and branches and the footprints of the babies as leaves were added to the artwork throughout the year, with the final panel due to be added before the end of January.

When will the celebration take place?

The “Born Into A City of Culture” celebration event will take place on Wednesday, January 24, in the Banquet Hall and Reception Room at the Guildhall between 9am and 3pm.

My baby’s footprint was taken. How can I get involved?

People will be invited to attend one-hour slots, with 400 timed tickets offered for each hour. Busiest sessions so far are from 11am to noon, 1pm to 2pm and 2pm to 3pm so book outside those times if possible to ensure a place.

How can I get a ticket and how much does it cost?

Families will be offered the opportunity to buy up to four tickets, costing £1 each with a 50p booking fee, to ensure as many as possible can attend the event.

Tickets are now on sale from Hull Box Office at www.hullboxoffice.com/events/born-into-a-city-of-culture-celebration-event

All proceeds raised from the celebration will go towards improving patient experience in the trust’s maternity service.

What’s happening at the event?

Families will be able to enjoy a montage of photographs taken by the trust throughout the year of the project. There will also be a group photograph taken of the families on the half hour, every hour.

Parents will get the opportunity to meet other families involved in the project and be reunited with the midwives who delivered the City of Culture babies.

There will be soft play and sensory toys available to keep the babies entertained along with “selfie” frames so families can collect their own memories of the day.

Specially designed biscuits designed in the shape of footprints will be available from Cookie Doodle Doo along with other memorabilia to celebrate the event.

Great British Bake Off winner Nancy Birtwhistle will also be making a special cake for the occasion.

Parents will also be able to visit a range of health information stalls to help with the next stages of their child’s development and get more information if they are planning their next baby.

I didn’t get a postcard of the month my baby was born. Can I still get one?

You’ll be able to buy postcards of each two-month section for £1 or £6 for all 12 panels featured in the art work.

Postcards of the final panel, featuring babies born in November and December alongside those babies who had their prints taken in December from our recall event, will also be on sale for £1.

Prints of the full artwork will be on sale for £10 or two for £15. A limited number of canvases of the artwork in different sizes will be available and details will be provided on the day about how those can be ordered.

Please remember that only cash will be accepted, with no facilities for credit or debit cards on the day.

Who else is coming?

City of Culture director Martin Greene will be at the event alongside senior figures from the hospital trust including medical director Colin Vize and non-executive director Stuart Hall.

Can I bring my pram?

A pram park will be set up in the Guildhall but, with a limited number of lifts in the building,  parents are being advised to bring babies in car seats or carry them in slings if possible.

Will I be able to get something to eat and drink?

Light refreshments and snacks will be available to buy. Breast-feeding and feeding areas will be available along with changing facilities.

What’s a “must know”?

It’s a “cash only” day. Credit and debit card facilities won’t be available.

A man has become the 5,000^th patient to be treated by Hull eye surgeons in a year after his failing eye sight started affecting his golf.

Geoffrey Branton, a retired European purchasing director for a major firm, had gone to his optician to have his vision checked when he realised he could no longer hit a golf ball properly.

He was referred to Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust after his optician discovered a cataract had formed in his left eye, affecting his vision.

Now, Mr Branton has become the 5,000^th patient to undergo surgery to remove the cataract at Hull Eye Hospital. Surgeons also corrected his vision at the same time, meaning he only requires glasses for reading.

“The treatment I received was absolutely first-class, from beginning to end,” Mr Branton said. “I’m not surprised they have been able to operate on 5,000 patients in one year because the whole service is just so efficient.”

Cataracts form when the lens inside the eye becomes cloudy. Symptoms can include blurred vision, inability to see colours properly, halos around light and problems with night vision.

While most patients are in their 70s and 80s, staff working for the trust’s ophthalmology service see patients in their 40s all the way to those aged 100 and over.

Children can also be born with congenital cataracts so attend the hospital to have them removed.

Ophthalmic nurse practitioner Carole Elliott-Croft said age is no barrier to the removal of cataracts.

“We would never say to anyone that they can’t have it done because of their age,” she said. “If cataracts are forming in your eyes, we will do our best to help you.”

The trust offers one-stop cataract clinics so patients can be assessed, tested and see the consultant in a single appointment.

The streamlined appointment, lasting around two hours, ensures patients only have to travel to hospital once for pre-assessment checks before surgery.

If the consultant decides the patient requires surgery, staff aim to book the operation for two to four weeks after the initial appointment.

During the operation, the surgeon will make an incision above the coloured part of the eye to go through the pupil so the ‘cloudy’ lens can be replaced by a clear, plastic lens.

Surgeons can also correct short-sightedness or conditions such as astigmatism, where the eye is shaped more like a rugby ball than a football, at the same time, giving people better vision.

Mr Branton, who lives in Swanland, East Yorkshire, said he was offered an appointment within three weeks of the referral  from his optician and was impressed by the one-stop shop service.

He said: “I was seen so quickly from receiving my diagnosis to getting the appointment and then when I arrived at the hospital, it just flowed so well.

“Staff were so good, talking me through every stage of the process, and when I saw the surgeon and he said I needed an operation, I couldn’t believe it when the nurse offered me a slot about two weeks later.”

Mr Branton underwent surgery on December 20 and noticed the difference almost immediately.

“I didn’t feel a thing with the operation and the difference is tremendous,” he said. “There’s a real clarity to my vision now and I don’t need glasses for distance.

“I’m hoping to get back to playing golf next week.”

‘Better quality of life’: Surgeon Colin Vize

Consultant ophthalmic surgeon Colin Vize, medical director for the trust’s family and women’s health group, said: “Everyone, if they live long enough, will develop cataracts because it’s an inevitable part of the ageing process.

“It is always the aim of our highly skilled and dedicated team to help as many people as possible and we achieved that in 2017 by giving 5,000 patients much better vision.

“I’m glad Mr Branton was so happy with the treatment he received here. We know removing cataracts can make such a difference to someone’s quality of life.”

A weight loss group has donated boxes of Christmas chocolates and biscuits to thank unsung heroes working in our two main hospitals.

Members of the Slimming World group in Hornsea collected their extra Christmas goodies to give away to porters, scientists, administrative and patient services staff at Hull Royal Infirmary and Castle Hill Hospital.

Kind hearts: Members of the Slimming World in Hornsea

Consultant Claire Dyer, who runs the group’s five sessions each week at the Town Hall in Newbegin, said: “As everyone making lifestyle changes by following our healthy eating plan knows, the festive season is a time of great temptation and can sabotage any weight loss plans.

“We decided this year we would bring our leftover chocolates, biscuits and festive goodies into our meetings so we can distribute them to staff helping to run our hospitals.

“We know the nurses and doctors do a fantastic job and are often recognised for their work so we thought we’d thank the other staff who might not see how much the public values the jobs they do for our NHS.”

Myles Howell, director of communication at Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “At this time of year, all of our staff are working tirelessly to cope with the pressures on the service.

“This is a lovely gesture by the members of Slimming World in Hornsea to show our staff how much they are appreciated by the public.”

Hull’s new birth centre has welcomed the first new arrivals of 2018.

Laura Mason, 31, was the first mum to give birth at the Fatima Allam Birth Centre when baby daughter Florence Annabelle arrived at 58 minutes past midnight on January 2.

Cradling their newborn daughter in her arms, Laura told how she achieved her dream of a good birth by delivering Florence Annabelle under water in the birthing pool with the lights changing colour, music playing and husband Chris by her side.

“It was absolutely perfect,” she said. “I’d arrived at the hospital at 10.30pm on New Year’s Day and gave birth two and a half hours later.

“We hadn’t thought about a water birth before but decided to get in the water when the midwife suggested it. It was just so relaxing, the warm water helped with the pain and it was just a wonderful experience.”

Laura and Chris Mason with daughter Florence Annabelle

Chris, 31, told how the first sight of his daughter came when Florence Annabelle rose up through the water to meet him.

He said: “It was just brilliant. Laura seemed so much more relaxed than she’d been at home as soon as she got into the pool.

“It worked out perfectly and I saw her open her eyes in the water when she came up to the surface.

“I can’t imagine a more ideal situation to give birth in and the staff were absolutely fantastic.”

The Fatima Allam Birth Centre opened in April 2017 and the midwifery-led service has helped scores of couples have their babies in a calm environment with first-class facilities.

Each of the three rooms is equipped with a birthing pool and platform, wet rooms and birthing balls which help women deliver their babies without medical intervention.

An option for most women with uncomplicated pregnancies, the birth centre is situated on the second floor of Hull Women and Children’s Hospital next to the labour ward.

Women who opt to deliver their babies at the Fatima Allam Birth Centre can access all pain relief except an epidural and should they require medical support, they can be transported to the neighbouring labour ward in seconds.

Laura and Chris, who live in the East Riding, are expecting to return home with their daughter, who weighed 7lbs 1.5oz, today.

“I had really wanted to have her at the birth centre as I’d heard really good things about it from my friends,” said Laura.

“The aim had been to have her at the birth centre and I was so relaxed and comfortable. “

Patrycja Zielke and Jozsef Balatinacz with daughter Nikola

Patrycja Zielke, 28, delivered the unit’s second baby of the new year when daughter Nikola arrived into the world arrived at 11.42am on January 2, weighing 8lb 8oz.

As her daughter slept in her cot next to her bed, Patrycja said she and partner Jozsef Balatinacz were pleased with their birth experience.

Patrycja is originally from Poland and has lived in Hull for six years. Jozsef is Hungarian and the couple, who live in Hull city centre, speak to each other in English. The plan is for their daughter to speak all three languages.

She said: “I’d an uncomplicated pregnancy so could use the birth centre and it was really good.

“I used the birthing pool and the birthing platform and I felt so relaxed.

“She is my first baby and I’m really glad I went to the birth centre.”

Suzanna Lascelles, midwifery sister for the birth centre, said couples can find out more about the birth centre at the next HEY Baby Carousel event at Hull Women and Children’s Hospital on January 31 between 6pm and 8pm.

She said: “We are putting blue and pink buttons in a special jar to mark all the babies born at the birth centre in 2018 so we’re delighted to start with our first two pink buttons.

“The Fatima Allam Birth Centre provides the opportunity to have a very special birth and to welcome your baby into the world in a calming and relaxing environment.

“We’re sure Florence Annabelle and Nikola will be the first of many new arrivals this year.”

Families are being invited to take part in a celebration marking the end of a unique project which recorded the birth of nearly every baby born during Hull’s year as City of Culture.

Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust will host the celebration on Wednesday, January 24, at the Guildhall for families of babies who took part in the “Born Into a City of Culture” project.

Throughout 2017, babies born in the city had impressions of their feet taken by midwives and midwifery assistants, with the footprints added to specially designed wall panels displayed in the foyer of Hull Women and Children’s Hospital.

New panels featuring the hands of midwives as tree trunks and branches and the footprints of the babies as leaves were added to the artwork throughout the year, with the final panel due to be added before the end of January.

Community midwife Sallie Ward, who came up with the idea for the project, said the trust wanted to plan a celebration to mark its success.

She said: “We’re really proud to have played a part in Hull’s year as City of Culture and the families have all contributed to a lasting piece of art which will be viewed for years to come.

“It is something we can all look back on with pride and we wanted to end the project on a high note by holding this event to say thank you to the families.”

Families will be offered the opportunity to buy up to four tickets, costing £1 each with a 50p booking fee, to ensure as many as possible can attend the event.

The event will take place between 9am and 3pm and 400 timed tickets will be offered for each hour, meaning a total of 2,400 people can attend.

All proceeds raised from the celebration will go towards improving patient experience in the trust’s maternity service.

Nancy Birtwhistle, winner of the Great British Bake Off in 2014, will make a special cake for the event which will be raffled off to raise funds.

People will be able to buy prints of the footprints artwork for £10 on the day, cash only, with limited edition canvasses also available to order.

Postcards of the final panel, featuring babies born in November and December alongside those babies who had their prints taken in December from our recall event, will be on sale at the event for £1.

Families will also be able to buy a set of six postcards featuring all 12 panels for £6.

Tickets are now on sale from Hull Box Office at www.hullboxoffice.com/events/born-into-a-city-of-culture-celebration-event

As well as giving parents the chance to celebrate with other families of babies born in 2017, they will also be able to meet midwives, have their photographs taken and listen to surprise guest speakers.

People are being urged to protect frontline emergency services as Hull Royal Infirmary comes under increasing pressure today.

With snow predicted for large parts of the north, Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust is urging people to use alternatives to the A&E department at Hull Royal Infirmary if they require medical assistance.

GP surgeries, the GP walk-in centre at Wilberforce Health Centre in Story Street, Hull city centre, the urgent care centre at Bransholme, minor injury units in the East Riding and pharmacists are open to help people.

People can also call NHS 111 for advice and information or visit www.staywellthiswinter.co.uk to find out which services are available in their area today and in the run-up to New Year.

Jonathan Wood, the trust’s director of operations, said: “The hospital is very busy due to a high number of admissions and we are expecting more admissions now because of the inclement weather.

“We really need to focus on genuine emergencies and people most in need of our help today.

“We are asking people to help us and our frontline staff by using alternatives instead of coming to A&E with illnesses and injuries which can be better treated elsewhere.

“Visiting your pharmacist or calling NHS 111 for advice could mean you will avoid the need to travel further for medical attention and using the GP walk-in service or the urgent care centre means you could be seen more quickly than if you come to A&E.”

She was their Christmas miracle, the tiny baby girl covered by her father’s hand.

Ava Curwood was delivered by emergency caesarean section 10 weeks before her due date after she stopped growing in the womb. She weighed just 1lb 7oz.

She was rushed to Hull Women and Children’s Hospital from Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital, in Grimsby when she was just two hours old and staff at Hull’s neonatal unit battled for more than a month to save her life.

Now, after celebrating her first birthday on December 19, Ava is a bouncing baby girl of 19lbs 5oz after being discharged by the paediatric team last month.

Baby Ava next to her father’s hand

Mum Briony, 27, said: “I asked if she would survive and they told me to take it hour by hour. Then it was week by week.

“But she was an absolute trooper and, to look at her now, you would never know all she had been through.

“We can’t thank the staff in Hull enough.”

Briony and husband Mike, an oil engineer, tried for a baby for almost two years before they discovered they were expecting Ava.

After a fall in the kitchen when she was 29 weeks pregnant, Briony went to the Grimsby hospital for her baby’s movements to be monitored.

Accompanied by her dad Andy Holmes, she went for a scan which showed her baby had not grown since 21 weeks.

“They told me I’d to prepare to give birth either that day or the next morning,” she said.

“I was excited at first because I thought I was going to see my baby. I didn’t know anything about prematurity as we always had 10lb babies in my family.

“But then I realised it was way too early and I got really scared.”

Whisked up to the labour ward, further monitoring showed Ava was in life-threatening distress and had to be delivered immediately, minutes after Mike arrived at the hospital.

Within two hours of her birth, she was on her way to Hull while her mother recovered from major surgery.

For the next few days, Mike shuttled breast milk from his wife to feed his daughter over the Humber Bridge, staying by his daughter’s beside in Hull where he was originally from and where his family still live.

Briony was eventually reunited with her daughter after four days, when she was well enough to make the journey to Hull.

“She didn’t look like a baby,” she said. “She looked just like a little doll. Her ears hasn’t come out of her head properly.

“We’ve got a photograph of Mike and her entire body fits into the palm of his hand. I kept looking at how tiny she was, wondering how she would ever survive.”

But survive she did. Within 24 hours, Ava was breathing unaided. Within three weeks, she was well enough to be transferred back to Grimsby and then allowed home when she weighed 4lbs 3oz.

Ava has cleared every developmental milestone and was discharged from paediatric services in November. The family has since returned to the neonatal unit to deliver Christmas presents, including tiny babygros for premature babies, as a way of thanking staff.

Her parents told us they planned to mark her first birthday on December 19 with a family party at their home in Curzon Court, Cleethorpes, sure to feature Ava’s favourite Peppa Pig cartoon, and the family intend to spend Christmas with their relatives.

“Last Christmas was absolutely horrible,” said Briony. “This year will be completely different. In fact, I’ve had my tree up since the end of November because I just couldn’t wait for us to begin the celebrations.”

Consultant Dr Chris Wood, the trust’s paediatric clinical director, said: “It’s great to see how well Ava is doing.

“Our dedicated and skilled staff do our absolute best for every baby brought to the unit.

“We are grateful to Ava’s mum and dad for taking the time this Christmas to thank us. We wish them a Merry Christmas and a healthy 2018.”

Starry-eyed and ecstatic: that’s how Healthcare Worker, Elaine Barnicoat, described herself after she and her colleagues on Ward 28 at Castle Hill Hospital received a surprise visit this morning.

The cardiac ward has been named  Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust’s most festive ward of 2017 and earned themselves temporary custody of the Dr Hermon Cup.

Staff were on the verge of tears as the surprise was sprung, and cameras from ITV Calendar and the Hull Daily Mail were there to catch the moment on film.

Ward Sister, Liz Robinson, wasn’t on duty this morning, but received a phone call during the visit to pass on the news, and described it as ‘fantastic’.

Competition was fierce this year, with numerous wards and departments scoring highly across both Hull Royal Infirmary and Castle Hill, but  Ward 28 just pipped their rivals with their giant letters to Santa, Christmas carols performed for patients in both word and sign language, and special gift bags for every patient on Christmas day.

Runners up this year were 2016’s winners, Ward 11 (Castle Hill) who turned their domain into Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory, complete with everlasting gobstopper machine and lickable wallpaper.

In joint third place were Radiotherapy at the Queen’s Centre (renamed Reindeer Therapy for the festive season) and Ward 6 at Hull Royal Infirmary. The Radiotherapy Team turned Linear Accelerators into reindeer and set up a special festive postbox for patients, while Ward 6 adopted the theme of ‘The Grinch’, by creating a Gastro Grinch for patient education and getting patients involved in making decorations.

The Dr Hermon Cup dates back to 1938, when the then-famous radiologist presented the shiny silver trophy to the best decorated ward in the old Anlaby Road Hospital.

For reasons unknown, the cup then became ‘lost’ alongside other photos and artefacts in the hospital archive, until it was found last year by Mr Colin Vize, Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon.  The trophy was dusted off, polished up, and used as an incentive for staff to go the extra festive mile for patients.

Now in its second year, Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust’s festive ward competition continues to bring teams together and create festive cheer for patients who find themselves in hospital at Christmastime.

Mr Vize, who is also a member of the competition judging panel, says:

“No one wants to be ill in hospital at this time of year, and it can be hard for staff working over Christmas too as they can miss out on valuable time with friends and family.

“Our competition is designed as a bit of fun, to bring people together and to raise some smiles among staff, visitors and patients, but it also has other benefits.

“We were very clear that we’re looking for more than just decorations; when we were judging, we looked at how else teams have created festive cheer for people and it’s amazing the lengths some teams have gone to. Staff have got patients involved in making decorations, they’ve hosted visits from carol singers, shopped on behalf of patients who aren’t able to do so themselves, and even renamed the radiotherapy machines after Santa’s reindeer.

“All of this might seem a bit light-hearted, but for someone who’s spending this particular time of year in hospital, it can really help to boost their spirits; helping them to pass the time, encouraging them to talk and interact with other people, and maybe even contributing to a quicker recovery.”

A mum has told how her three year-old son was saved by hospital staff after he developed a life-threatening condition.

Freddie Smith underwent two emergency operations after part of his intestine telescoped into another section, putting his life in danger.

Now looking forward to Christmas after being released from hospital, Freddie’s mum Leanne, 32, has thanked staff at Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust for saving her son.

“They were absolutely amazing,” she said. “They cared for him like they loved him rather than him just being a random little boy.

“One nurse even phoned in on her days off to see how he was in the early days when he was really, really ill.

“Every single person who dealt with us was fantastic.”

Leanne, an Asda delivery driver, went into son Freddie’s bedroom at their home in Ceylon Street, east Hull, on Friday, November 24, to wake him up for nursery.

However, she found him lying upside down on his bed covered in thick black vomit.

Thinking her son had a simple sickness bug, she cleaned him up and changed him before he started passing blood.

Terrified, she dialled 999 and an ambulance rushed Freddie to Hull Royal Infirmary’s paediatric emergency department.

“He was limp and floppy,” said Leanne. “He was lifeless and it was terrifying.”

She made a frantic phone call to husband Phil, working away from home as a slinger banksman, and he began the five-hour journey back to Hull while Leanne’s mum and dad came to the hospital to be with her.

With no improvement in his condition, Freddie had an x-ray and then an ultrasound which showed intussusception, normally found in babies aged three to 18 months.

Intussusception is when part of the intestine telescopes or folds in on itself, causing severe abdominal pain as the bowel walls press on one another.

Three hours after discovering her seriously ill son, Leanne watched him wheeled into the hospital’s operating theatre for two-hour surgery.

However, Freddie’s condition failed to improve and a further x-ray revealed intussusception had occurred on the other side of his body and he required more surgery.

Leanne said: “He had wires everywhere. He had gone from being my perfectly happy and healthy little boy to being a child who couldn’t even sit up.

“We just kept thinking what were we going to do and what was going to happen to him.”

Doctors believed the problem was caused by inflamed lymph nodes caused by an infection in Freddie’s body so started him on broad spectrum antibiotics to tackle the infection.

And under the watchful eyes of staff on Acorn Ward, Freddie began the first steps on the road to recovery.

Eight days later, he was allowed back home to east Hull and is now looking forward to a visit from Father Christmas.

Leanne said: “I stayed with him in hospital every minute of the day and night. Staff were just so caring and kind to all of us.

“We had already bought him tonnes of presents but we’ve bought him even more now. He’s getting back to being himself now and we’re just so pleased he’s still here with us.”