A few days ago, nine-month-old Leyton ingested a piece of plastic and began choking. His father, Adam, immediately called for an ambulance before performing CPR on his son.
At the hospital, Leyton’s heart was restarted and Leyton placed in an induced coma.
Over the next two days, doctors ran several tests on Leyton to determine how badly the choking had damaged his health. The child failed to respond.
Doctors ran an MRI scan, which finally revealed all the abnormalities on Leyton’s body. There was little that could be done to save him.
He died just two days later.
When Leyton’s parents, Adam and Serena, realized that their son couldn’t be saved, they told the camera crew from the show “Inside Birmingham Children’s Hospital” to continue filming. The parents felt it was the best way to honor their nine-month-old son’s too-short life, as well as the hospital staff who worked so hard to save his life.
They also wanted to warn all parents about the dangers of choking; “even when you think you’ve done all you can to protect your baby, accidents can happen.”
“…if by watching this program, it makes parents even more aware of hazards, and saves just one life and another family going through what we did and will continue to struggle for the rest of our lives, then [Leyton’s] life wasn’t in vain,” they said.
Thus far, the response has been overwhelming.
Viewers have poured out their hearts and sympathies on Twitter after watching the programme, promising to keep the family in their thoughts.
Serena reassures everyone that their family – her husband, Adam, and their surviving son, Cooper – are trying to continue living. “I’ve lost the most precious thing you could lose,” she said, “but we still have life.”
You can watch a bit of the raw footage here:
