A woman who feared for her new-born baby after an unidentified illness will be raising money for Watford General Hospital’s special care baby unit.
Sophie Toomey, who works in the NHS herself, was terrified when doctors said she could not leave with her new-born son Jake, born on March 2 last year, after a general check-up.
As she was leaving Watford General Hospital with her then two-day-old baby, doctors realised they had not done a mandatory temperature check before he left.
And after Jake’s temperature was taken, there were signs for concern as he was nearly 39 degrees Celsius.
The day after, his temperature was even higher and Jake was admitted to an incubator at special care baby unit for various tests.
The mother was increasingly concerned as staff at the hospital were unsure what was triggering the unusually high temperature, and a series of blood and medical tests were taken to determine what it was.
Sophie with her son Jake
The birthing process was already difficult, as Jake was quite a large baby and had to be induced, he was not born breathing and there were originally concerns that Jake may have dislocated his shoulder.
This happened just over a week before the World Health Organisation declared Covid-19 a global pandemic, and it was even more of a shock when doctors informed they had to conduct a Covid test to the baby.
While NHS staff were unsure what the actual cause of the alarming temperature was, Mrs Toomey says that they were very informative and reassuring the entire time, making the difficult process easier.
After a week of series of different medical tests, doctors concluded that the illness must have been viral and it was safe to go.
She said: “In hindsight a week doesn’t seem that long, but everyday you’re just sat there and you’re worrying for the longest time for all these results to come back.”
The mother, who would regularly run before having her children and took part in half marathons, knew she wanted to repay the favour to the “amazing” staff that helped keep her calm during the whole process.
Now she will run the Dorney Lake half marathon in Windsor on September 25.
Money raised will go towards the special care baby unit at Watford General.
To donate, visit: https://gofund.me/68b46707
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