FIRST time parents Charlie and Andy Collyer went through every mum and dad's worst nightmare when their baby son nearly died just three days after he was born.

The couple were so grateful to the doctors and nurses at two hospitals who fought to save baby Teagan, they were determined to give something back.

On Sunday, May 19, they organised a special event at their home in St James Road, Watford, to raise cash for the baby units at Watford General Hospital and London Hammersmith Hospital, where Teagan was treated.

To look at him now you would never suspect the smiling boy, now a healthy one-year-old, had such a traumatic first week in the world.

Just three days after he was born a visiting midwife noticed there was something wrong and advised his parents to take him to hospital.

Mrs Collyer, 26, an office administrator turned full-time mum, recalled the terrible day her baby nearly died.

She said: "He wasn't rushed to hospital. He was very sleepy and slightly jaundiced and these were the things spotted by the community midwife who came out to him. She advised us to take him in and get him looked at."

But when Teagan arrived at Watford General his condition deteriorated rapidly and he was suddenly fighting for his life.

Tests revealed he was hypoglycaemic a condition where sufferers have an abnormal lack of sugar in the blood.

This meant his blood was thicker than usual and his tiny organs were having trouble pumping it around his body.

Mrs Collyer said: "You come home and you're just overjoyed at having a new baby then you can see it all slipping away."

Mr Collyer, a 28-year-old software programmer, added: "It was absolutely devastating. You think 'what am I supposed to do now'. But as soon as he got to the special care baby unit we knew he was in good hands."

Teagan's condition was stabilised but he started having fits with the risk of permanent brain damage.

Mrs Collyer said: "He was jerking and shaking. That's your child, your baby and you just want him to live.

"That's all we wanted. We didn't care about brain damage or any other lasting effects. We wanted him to live and knew we could deal with all the rest."

After spending the night at the hospital, the Collyers had an agonising wait for a special ambulance to transfer Teagan to the Hammersmith, where specialists gave him drugs to control the fits.

Six days later and he was well enough to return home. A few months after his parents thought they had lost him he was the star guest at their wedding.

A naming ceremony was part of festivities. Dad explained where Teagan got his unusual name: "We spent a long time preparing a short list and going through baby name books.

"I got Teagan off an Irish baby name website. As soon as he came out we knew the name we wanted to give him."

Thankfully Teagan has now made a full recovery. His mum said: "He's a very robust and happy one-year-old."

She and her husband were so grateful to the doctors and nurses who saved their child they invited 60 friends and family to a fundraising barbecue last Sunday.

A signed football from Watford FC was auctioned along with other goodies provided by local firms. The event raised a total of £1,200.

The Collyers, who would like to have more children, hope this money will go some way to helping other babies.

Mrs Collyer said: "It costs about £1,500 for a day in a special care baby unit. Teagan was in one for six days, which is obviously a huge chunk of NHS money. Seeing the job the nurses did they were just so dedicated we wanted to give something back."

She added: "We had a shock introduction to parenthood. Someone said to me when I was pregnant that you don't know what worry is until you're a parent and on day three I completely understood what that meant."