'You wouldn’t know that our child nearly died' – Mansfield parents nominate life-saving surgeon
Mansfield parents have nominated a Nottingham surgeon for a hospital award after he saved their son’s life.
The parents of Jackson Lee, from Mansfield, have nominated Shailinder Singh for a Nottingham University Hospital People First Recognition Award.
“Mr Singh is the best,” said dad Matt.
He added: “The things that were put in place to save Jackson’s life were incredible and I will forever be in Mr Singh’s debt.
“It’s a miracle as far as I am concerned.”
Jackson was blue-lighted to Queen’s Medical Centre after he collapsed on the floor at King’s Mill Hospital A&E, where medics originally thought he had appendicitis or gastroenteritis.
Matt explained: “They said ‘if we don’t get Jackson into a medically induced coma in the next couple of minutes, there is a good chance he will die.
“You can imagine how horrific it was to hear that as a parent.
“They whisked Jackson away and it took so long to stabilise him that Bec and I were convinced he had died.”
Jackson was then rushed to the Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham.
“We were told not to follow the ambulance, as they might need to stop and work on him on the way,” added Matt.
At Queen’s Medical Centre, Jackson’s mum Bec asked if she could see her son and was told no.
She said: “The nurse said ‘he’s got minutes to live and if I don’t take him now he won’t survive.’
“It’s a parent’s worst nightmare, I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.”
Jackson was taken to the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit where Matt and Bec met Mr Singh.
Matt said: “He was already gowned up and he said ‘don’t worry, God is with me, and I will save him.
“The doors burst open and Jackson was wheeled in – they didn’t even have time to take him to theatre.
“Mr Singh did the operation right there on the ward.”
Jackson had a hernia and a perforated bowel.
Ten centimetres of his large intestine had pushed through the hernia, and had twisted and died, causing sepsis.
Mr Singh cut out the rotting flesh and several litres of septic fluid were drained away.
Mr Singh said: “Doing the operation this way enabled me to save a very sick child by operating on him on the trolley in the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit rather than taking them to theatre and giving him general anaesthetic and possibly losing them.”
Jackson is now a lively 11-year-old about to start secondary school at All Saints Catholic Academy in Mansfield in September.
“If you didn’t know, you wouldn’t know that child nearly died,” said Bec.
She added: “The medical staff said his pain threshold is super super high so he hadn’t realised how ill he was.
“When they brought him round from the coma – after the surgery – they managed his pain with Calpol.”
“If Mr Singh hadn’t been on call that night, when Jackson took ill, there’d be no Jackson,” said Bec.
NUH People First Recognition Awards programme enables any staff or patients to nominate a person or team.
Nominations are now closed.