TERI McCarthy still recalls the agony of her baby son Lee’s 10-day stint in hospital after he contracted croup and suffered an allergic reaction.

Her experience left such a lasting impression that the 59-year-old grandmother from Rumney, Cardiff, signed up as a volunteer for the Noah’s Ark Appeal, which supports the children’s hospital at the University Hospital of Wales.

So when her newborn grandson Tomos was rushed to hospital under similar circumstances this year, she was able to reassure her son, now 27, that his baby was in good hands.

Thanks to Teri’s work – along with hundreds of other volunteers – little Tomos had a dedicated children’s hospital to go to, where the care was “second to none”.

“I knew I wanted to work for the Noah’s Ark Appeal because it has always been close to my heart since my son was in hospital,” said Teri, who is hoping to build a website for the appeal.

“When Lee was around the same age as Tomos is now he suffered with croup. He then developed an allergy to something and it made him swell up like a balloon.

“It was really frightening. He was kept in for 10 days and he was two or three years old before his racking cough stopped.”

Now 27, it was Lee’s turn to worry about his own son, who was rushed to the Children’s Hospital for Wales with a severe form of bronchiolitis on New Year’s Eve.

Bronchiolitis, a respiratory infection in the smallest airways in the lungs, usually affects babies under nine months old, especially during the cold winter months. In its mildest form it seems just like any cough and cold but, in more severe cases like Tomos’, babies have problems breathing and can stop eating altogether.

Teri recalled how her daughter-in-law Arwen, 27, called her on New Year’s Eve to tell her they were taking 10-week-old Tomos into hospital.

“She said he wasn’t very well and he hadn’t been well for a few weeks,” said Teri.

“She had taken him to the doctors for about the fifth time and they told her to take him straight to the hospital.

“We were sent to the Children’s Hospital. Tomos was breast feeding but he couldn’t keep anything down and he couldn’t breathe – you could see his little chest panting.

“As soon as he got to the hospital they put a tube into his stomach to feed him and put him into an oxygen box for two days.

“It was very frightening for all of us. They were talking about moving him to the high dependency unit because he wasn’t settling down. At one point there were three nurses and two doctors treating him and it was scary.

“But thanks to the care he received he was okay. The staff were absolutely wonderful and nothing was too much for them. He was home after five days and – fingers crossed – he has been fine ever since.

“He is the first child for my son and daughter-in-law – and my first grandchild – and I think they worried they were being too overprotective and when it turned out he was very ill it came as a shock to all of us.”

She added: “When we were there with Tomos I was surprised by the number of children there with the same illness, it was incredible. I have got a child and my sisters have got children but none of us knew anything about it.

“So if telling our story helps spread awareness that can only be a good thing.”

Lee and Arwen returned home with Tomos, who is now three months old, to St Mellons five days later and, with help from Teri, they are keeping their eyes peeled for any signs the infection has returned.

“When he was in that oxygen box the doctors were worried for his safety and they kept warning Arwen that it could get worse,” said Teri. “That was the worst time and it did remind me of what I went through with Lee.”

Weeks after their scare, Teri has been tasked with creating a website for the Noah’s Ark Appeal shop, so money can keep on being raised to provide specialist equipment for the hospital.

She is being paid to work for the charity through a scheme run by mobile phone company Vodafone, and the grandma has jumped at the chance to pick up new skills.

Words: mediawales