THE outstanding work of staff at Queen Charlotte’s and Chelsea Hospital is about to give one family a Christmas together that they hardly dared hope for.

Baby Tommy Parlour was rushed to the Shepherd’s Bush hospital in a critical condition, just hours after his birth in February.

Despite a healthy, normal-length pregnancy, he was starved of oxygen when he suffered two seizures and failed to breathe for 9 minutes.

Devastated parents Ben and Shanon were told their newborn child was at serious risk of brain damage and the couple, who hail from Reading, began to fear the worst.

Transferring to the dedicated maternity hospital from the Royal Berkshire, Tommy was given 72 hours of cooling, a treatment that lessens the risk of brain damage in babies who have been deprived of oxygen.

After a fearful nine-day wait, doctors gave Tommy the all-clear and, although he needs regular check-ups, he has no signs of brain damage.

Children’s medical research charity Sparks has helped pioneer research into cooling treatment.

Tommy’s father, Ben, said: “The day you have your first child is supposed to be the best in your life. For us it was the worst day.

“Nothing could have prepared me for seeing my baby blue and floppy, being rushed away for emergency attention. Medical research saved Tommy’s life and we are so grateful to have him with us.

“Had Sparks not funded this research, it might have been a very different outcome.”

Mr Parlour said he and his wife are looking forward to spending their first Christmas with Tommy, now aged 10 months.

Glynn Russell is the chief of service for neonatology at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust which runs Queen Charlotte's & Chelsea Hospital.

He said: We are delighted that Tommy is doing so well after his time at Queen Charlotte's & Chelsea Hospital. Infant cooling is a treatment our neonatal team pioneered for babies who have been deprived of oxygen at birth, and it has proved to be a successful therapy for babies like Tommy."

For more information on Sparks, visit www.sparks.org.uk