AT 9pm on a Monday night, seven-year-old Albie should have been fast asleep.
So when his mum Katie heard some “funny noises” coming from his bedroom, she marched upstairs ready to tell him off.
But instead of seeing her “cheeky” little boy playing with his toys, she found him foaming at the mouth with his eyes in the back of his head.
Albie was having a seizure, his arms and legs were jerking around uncontrollably.
“It was absolutely horrific,” Katie said. “It turned serious so quickly.
“Albie’s brother Owen had texted me from upstairs saying he was making funny noises as he was trying to sleep.
“I went upstairs, expecting to tell Albie off and to go back to sleep, but what I saw was something completely different.”
Katie quickly called 999, and paramedics rushed to their home in North Norfolk.
Ground crew sedated Albie, but they said he needed to be taken by air ambulance to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge, which is two and a half hours away by car.
The East Anglian Air Ambulance crew arrived, giving Albie medication to stop the seizure.
He was then put into an induced coma to try to prevent further brain damage.
Dr Toby Edmunds, critical care and emergency medicine consultant, said: “The air ambulance carries a whole emergency department resuscitation room in the back of the aircraft and in kit bags.
“We are able to enhance the care the ambulance service can deliver, bringing the key interventions further forward in the patient’s journey.”
Katie said: “We were just emotional wrecks.
“It was a relief that extra help was coming, but there was also the fear that it was really serious now.
“We knew then it wasn’t just a ‘normal’ seizure, it was life-threatening.
“There were so many people around him. All we could do was touch his foot.
“We felt totally helpless as parents. We had to just sit back and watch our son as everyone took over. It was really hard.”
Albie’s dad Tim added: “It was incredibly scary.”
I don’t even want to think about what life would be like if Albie wasn’t part of our family
Katie
At just 13 weeks old, Albie was diagnosed with hydrocephalus – when excess fluid puts pressure on the brain, which can damage it.
He had surgery just one week later to place a shunt inside his brain, which would drain the excess fluid to his stomach, followed by seven other operations.
Albie’s “out-of-control” seizure on April 3, 2023, was likely caused by hydrocephalus complications, his family say.
Emergency workers were concerned about the build-up on his brain, and whether the shunt could have been blocked.
To ensure he got the best care and had the best chance of survival, they needed to get him to Addenbrooke’s Hospital – almost two and a half hours away by road or under 30 minutes by air.
“I can’t explain enough just how amazing these helicopters are,” Katie said.
“Things could have gone so differently. We simply wouldn’t have Albie here without them.”
The youngster has now been diagnosed with epilepsy, which is common in people with hydrocephalus.
Luckily, the quick response by the air ambulance crew meant Albie didn’t need further brain surgery and he came out of his coma just 12 hours later.
Tim said: “No one thinks they’ll need the air ambulance, but when they do, it’s essential.
“Our family is whole because of amazing donations to them.”
Katie added: “No one thinks they’ll need an air ambulance, but my son wouldn’t be here without them.
“The difference in having the helicopter compared to going by land could have meant he was dead or alive. It is as simple as that.”
East Anglian Air Ambulance is one of 21 air ambulance charities in the UK.
Overall, they are dispatched to an average of 126 life-saving missions every day.
But they rely on donations, with each call-out costing more than £4,000.
During Air Ambulance Week, which runs September 9 to 15, online raffle company Raffolux has partnered with the charity to help them to continue saving lives, raising over £32,000 so far.
Katie said: “Our family is whole because of donations.
“Albie wouldn’t be here otherwise. I don’t even want to think about what life would be like if he wasn’t part of our family.”
