Rafe, 18 months old, Gloucestershire
Oxygen deprivation at birth
Alex describes the emotional birth of his son, Rafe. Rafe suffered oxygen deprivation at birth which can lead to severe disability or death.
Diagnosis
“When my wife, Caroline, was giving birth there were complications. Rafe came out completely floppy. He was on the bed not moving and the doctors were trying to resuscitate him with all this equipment. I just didn’t know what to do.
“Eventually he started breathing but he was without oxygen for a few minutes. He was put on a cart and rushed to intensive care. Marianne (Professor Thoresen) and her xenon cooling team were there within three hours of the incident. They asked us if we would be happy to be part of the trial and told us how successful it had been for other babies.
“We agreed to it and they started the cooling treatment. She came to see Rafe and looked at his scans. She didn’t think he was having a fit so they started the heating process. Luckily, within a few hours of being heated up he started breast feeding right away. A few days after the treatment he was able to come home with us.”
Living with the condition
“My ambition for Rafe grows and grows every single day because every day he does something amazing. At the moment, I feel like he could do anything in the future. It’s his choice and there’s nothing stopping him. To be honest, none of this would have happened without Marianne and her team at Bristol.
“If it wasn’t for Marianne’s research, Rafe possibly might not be here and he most definitely wouldn’t be the boy he is today. If it’s enough to help just a few people, it’s worth doing because it’s made such a difference to our lives. I would love to be able to thank everybody that has funded Sparks research and for them to meet Rafe. I’d like to show them that this is where all their hard work has gone. It’s made us so happy as a family.”
How Sparks is helping
Professor Thoresen was part of a research group that developed the first effective treatment against brain injury in infants – cooling to 33.5˚C for 72 hours. Thanks to this technique and the research already funded by Sparks, the lives of hundreds of babies like Rafe have already been saved.
Despite their achievements, Professor Thoresen and her team think they can do better. Their goal is to test a new technique of administering xenon gas during the cooling treatment.
They hope to develop safe and affordable treatment that helps babies to survive with less brain injury. By improving the effectiveness of this already successful treatment, this project will help to prevent even more brain injuries at birth.
Find out more about Sparks research projects into oxygen deprivation.