Little Virginia boy fights the odds and survives

As Cameron Phipps plays happily with his mother, you would hardly believe he was born several weeks prematurely and his parents, Danielle Phipps and Mark Hearns, were told his chances of survival were slim. Danielle and Mark live at Swift Glen, Virginia with their two daughters, Holly and Shannon, and sons, Daniel and Cameron, who is now 18 months old. Danielle explained how she experienced a normal pregnancy until she went into early labour at 27 weeks. She was taken to Cavan hospital, where they managed to stop the labour. "On November 4, 2009 I woke up with very bad pains and I went into Cavan General and within half an hour Cameron was delivered because my placenta had abrupted. When that happens, it is life threatening for mother and the child." There was little time for bonding as the race began to keep Cameron alive. "Dr Van der Spek and his team put him on ventilators to regulate his breathing and there were tubes everywhere. That evening we were told he had to be transferred to Holles Street in Dublin, because we were told his condition was worse than they thought. He was brought up in his incubator in an ambulance to Holles Street." There, a nurse told Danielle Cameron needed a blood transfusion and the prognosis was bleak. "The next morning we were told that he experienced a grade 3 and a grade 4 brain haemorrhage. We were more or less told to say our goodbyes." But Cameron defied the odds and continued to fight for his life: "Every day he seemed to be on more antibiotics, more tubes and tests," said Danielle. He continued to confound the medical teams and went from his ventilator to C-PAP for a short time, and was then able to breath for himself. "I wasn't allowed to touch him because he was so fragile. I didn't get to hold him until he was two weeks old," said Danielle. "You feel helpless," said Mark. "The other children didn't understand why we were always away and the magnitude of the situation. To have him at home now is brilliant." Rev Up For Prems The Phipps family are supporting an unusual fundraising event next Tuesday, April 19 - Rev Up For Prems, a road challenge in which Sean Brennan will ride his Harley Davidson from the Rotunda Hospital to various children's units in hospitals all over the country. His Cavan stop is at the general hospital SCBU Unit on Tuesday 19, from where he will go to Letterkenny via Belturbet. The twist in the challenge is that Sean has not arranged any accommodation en route, so he will be relying on the generosity of businesses to help him on his journey... look out for Sean on his Harley and see if you can help. Funds raised will go towards the purchase of more incubators, breathing monitors and other essential items. Make donations to the Irish Premature Babies Association by texting prem 57802 after April 19.