(posted 7427 days ago)South London Press
'Our miracle baby'
Dec 23 2003
By Health Reporter Jon RyderTHE adoring parents of little Cameron Carville know he very nearly missed out on ever having a Christmas.
Fiona and Steve's baby was a few weeks old when he was involved in a horrific car accident in Kennington in February.
If that wasn't enough, tiny Cameron was in an ambulance taking him to hospital for a life-saving heart operation when the crash happened.
In the space of a month the youngster managed to cheat death twice - once in the accident and once on the operating table.
Shortly after birth, Cameron - now 10 months old - was diagnosed with a serious heart defect and the family were told he had to go to Guy's Hospital at London Bridge for treatment.
The ambulance travelled through the night from their Eastbourne home as Cameron's parents followed in their car, already preparing for the worst.
But just as they were discussing how they would cope if their son didn't survive the operation, there was an accident in front of them at the junction of Kennington Road and Kennington Park Road.
When they got closer they saw the ambulance on its side and realised the unthinkable had happened.
Fiona, 29, said: "I have flashbacks and I still can't believe it happened. "I went completely numb and I was certain he hadn't survived."
Incredibly, though, a vital drip stayed attached to Cameron as the ambulance rolled over.
He suffered a fractured skull and bruising to the brain, but amazingly, he survived.
"The doctor and senior nursing staff from Guy's were hurt in the crash but they carried on working on Cameron in another ambulance on the way to King's," said Fiona.
"They were completely focused on saving Cameron - they were incredible."
The baby was transferred from the trauma unit at King's College Hospital in Camberwell back to Guy's and, after two weeks of operations, the parents were told Cameron didn't have brain damage.
They then had to wait as the youngster had open-heart surgery - the operation he went for in the first place - and again were relieved to find out it was a success.
Fiona said: "It really was a miracle, but to look at him you'd never know what he had been through - there's only a little mark on his forehead. "He's such a happy, sociable baby. It's a relief to see him really enjoying life.
"Everybody's looking forward to seeing him this Christmas. We're having a big family Christmas at our house so he'll get to play with all the children."
His sister, two-and-a-half-year-old Sorcha, also can't wait to spend the big day with her brother.