A RELIEVED mum says she “feared the worst” when her four-year-old son suffered a terrifying fit while out walking his dogs with his dad.
Paramedics raced to Summerhill Country Park, off Catcote Road, Hartlepool, before the Air Ambulance was launched after young Byron Skinner suffered a seizure.
Byron was walking his two dogs with his dad, Daniel Skinner, 27, who frantically dialled 999 after the Rift House Primary School pupil suffered a bad turn.
The youngster suffers with febrile convulsions – seizures caused by a fever of high body temperature – and has had nine fits in the past but none of them have lasted any longer than 10 minutes.
But his mum, Jade Gardner, 23, who ran to Summerhill with her 18-month-old daughter Brooke Skinner after being told what had happened, admitted her panic turned to desperation as she watched on as Byron was still fitting after 25 minutes.
“When I got there all I could see was the paramedics around him and when I saw the panic on the paramedic’s face I panicked even more, I feared the worst,” said Jade, who lives with Daniel, who works for Hartlepool Borough Council’s recycling department, and their two children in Thackeray Road, in Hartlepool.
“I was just hoping and praying he was going to be ok.”
Byron was airlifted to James Cook University Hospital, in Middlesbrough, after the incident at around 4.20pm on Tuesday.
Jade said medics put the seizure down to febrile convulsions, but also detected a heart murmur when Byron underwent tests.
“We were told that might have been because of the seizure so we have to go back in six months time,” she said.
“They said it was a febrile convulsion but it lasted so much longer than it has done in the past, I’m just so nervous now, I don’t want to let him out of my sight.
“He had been fine and he was just walking the dogs and playing with his dad and then he just started having a fit, his dad said his eyes went back to the top of his head,” said Jade.
Byron was released from hospital after spending one night under observation.
After the relief of getting Byron back home, Jade was full of praise for the paramedics at the scene who treated her son and the Great North Air Ambulance.
She also thanked another man, who they didn’t know, but was a “huge help” in rushing to the Summerhill visitors’ centre after Byron had suffered the seizure and then directed the paramedics to his aid.
“All of those people were brilliant,” she said.
“If it wasn’t for their help, I don’t even want to think about what might have happened.”
A spokesman for the Great North Air Ambulance said: “Incidents such as this one involving a young child are always really concerning so we are absolutely delighted to hear that he’s doing well.
“We are looking forward to inviting Byron to our base so we can show him round and so he can meet the crew.”