A desperate mother saved her four-week-old baby when a 999 call handler helped her perform mouth-to-mouth for eight minutes.
Jasmin Legg, 39, from Burnham in Buckinghamshire, was terrified when she found her son Zachary, lying cold and blue in his cot after he had stopped breathing.
She frantically dialled 999 and was put through to Darren Bradley, who works for South Central Ambulance Service (SCAS).
Jasmin Legg (left), 39, said 999 call operator Darren Bradley (right, holding Zachary) ‘saved’ her four-week-old son Zachary’s life by helping her perform CPR on him over the phone
During tense audio, a tearful Miss Legg can be heard saying: ‘My baby has stopped breathing.
‘He’s lifeless. He’s lifeless.’
Darren told her to cover Zachary’s nose and mouth with her own mouth and breath into him.
She carried on performing CPR until he began to breathe independently, eight minutes later.
She said: ‘Zachary had a cough and a cold and his older brother Joshua had it the week before. I took him to the doctor who noticed mucus on his chest, but said to sit it out.
‘On the Friday morning I didn’t think he looked well but his temperature was 32.7C – which I now know is dangerously near death.’
Ms Legg performed CPR on Zachary (pictured, recovering in hospital) for eight minutes before paramedics arrived on the scene
The mother then called her GP and was told to take the baby to A&E, but then Zachary turned blue.
She said: ‘When I looked at the baby he just looked blue and he flopped in my hands. I thought he was dead.’
After calling the emergency services, Ms Legg described the following eight minutes as the ‘longest’ of her life.
After treatment for a serious case of bronchiolitis, Zachary is now back at home with his family
She said: ‘Darren was brilliant, he was constantly guiding me, as I have never done CPR before. He saved Zachary.’
Paramedics were able to raise the tot’s breathing from five breaths a minute, to 28.
Zachary was then rushed to Wexham Park Hospital for treatment, before being transferred to Southampton Hospital’s intensive care unit.
He was diagnosed with a serious case of bronchiolitis, a respiratory tract infection and kept in ICU for a day there before being moved to John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford.
He is now happy, healthy and back home in Burnham, Buckinghamshire.
Ms Legg added: ‘Its very common in babies, but it’s rare to have it to Zachary’s extent.’
She was delighted when her husband David, 41, arranged a surprise meeting between her and Darren, who helped save her son’s life on November 24.
‘It was really nice to meet Darren and say thank you, as these people don’t get enough thanks for what they do’, she said.
‘I saved his life and by doing what they told me, the mucus was blown away from whatever it was blocking.’