A couple from Hither Green are on a mission to thank the “amazing” hospital staff who saved their son’s life a year after he was born.

Amanda Chamming’s, 32, gave birth to Théodore Clark at Lewisham Hospital last November – but shortly after he came out, Amanda, her husband Alex, 34, and staff realised something was not right.

“He came out and he was pretty blue. Obviously that does happen with babies sometimes.

“I held him and I thought there was something wrong.

“They started intubating him by putting a tube down his throat because they thought there was a problem with his lungs. But it didn’t make any difference.”

Théodore was suffering from total anomalous pulmonary venous return (TAPVR), which meant his four main blood vessels to the heart were not connected properly.

“His oxygenated and deoxygenated blood was mixing together which is why he had gone blue.”

Amanda, a lawyer, recalled how her son was immediately whisked away to Paediatric Intensive Care before being transferred to Evelina Children’s Hospital for emergency open heart surgery.

“The nurses were amazing. They ordered me a taxi (To Evelina) and packed my bag – I think they didn’t think he was going to make it.”

When she met Alex and Théodore at Evelina, Amanda once again praised staff for their help and support.

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Theo's surgery went well and he is now a "friendly" little baby

“They were so good at explaining everything. One surgeon even got out his iPhone and showed us what the heart should look like, compared to what Theo’s looked like.”

Thankfully, Theo’s operation – in which his tiny heart was stopped for an hour - went well and he is now about to celebrate his first birthday.

“He is very active and he’s just started walking. He’s definitely a people person and actively searches out people, even when he’s in his pram. He’s very smiley.

“He’s quite nosey and a bit stubborn,” she joked.

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Theo is described as a "people person"

The couple decided to give Theo the middle name Clark after Alex’s love of superheroes – nicknaming their son ‘Superbaby’ for his incredible recovery.

Looking back on the ordeal which she describes as “a bit of a blur,” Amanda is hugely grateful for the staff who saved her son.

“They’re amazing. They obviously looked after him but they really did look after us as well. When he was in ICU he had one nurse to himself and they were on 12 hour shifts.

“They were so friendly – just absolutely amazing.”

She and Alex, who works in hospitality, have embarked on a huge drive to raise £20,000 for the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit and Cardiology Kids at Evelina.

They have gathered the Team Theo marathon group to take on different challenges, including the Virgin Money London Marathon, to give back to the people who saved their son - and they have already raised a whopping £17,000.

“He’s a very good baby - he’s perfect,” Amanda said.