13/08/2025
It’s back to school week! Today, Ruaridh is attending his first day of school. ✏️
But in the first few weeks of his life, Ruaridh suffered breathing difficulties, and was eventually put on a form of life support in NICU.
His Mum, Gill, has shared his incredible story as he begins Primary 1.
“Ruaridh is actually quite chilled out about being a big Primary 1 kid and going into the big boy playground,” she said. “He’s telling me, ‘Mum, this isn’t a big deal!’
“He loves building things and finding out how things work, going around on his scooter, and being a big brother to his sister Orlagh. He misses her when she isn’t with her.
“Ruaridh was born after 36 weeks by C-Section. He wasn’t breathing properly and he was put on high-flow oxygen in NICU.
“Nothing was working. It didn’t make any sense – we just went into survival mode. He was put on ECMO, and for me, this is when these miracle doctors and nurses just showed how incredible they are. I feel like they have halos around their heads.
“Ruaridh had two nurses with him constantly, checking his blood. His blood needed thinned for the machinery, and then almost thickened when it went back into his body. If any nurse left for any reason or went to the toilet, another took their place for however long.
“What was amazing was how Sean and I were so included in his care – we could still feel like a Mum and Dad to him. We could change his nappy, clean his eyelids and around his mouth… all the things that helped us still feel like a parent. They sent us videos through the night via vCreate, which was amazing. I sent them all around the family who couldn’t see, touch or hold him.
“After five days, he came off ECMO, completely unscathed. It can be a difficult thing to be on, so that was incredible, then he was weaned off medications to sedate him and other things like that. As soon as they could, the staff encouraged us to hold Ruaridh. I hadn’t held him for all this time. His eyes opened, they took him off oxygen and life support, and then I was even encouraged to feed him.
“He unfortunately got sepsis shortly after, but very quickly he was moving to SCBU from NICU, then came home on a very low amount of oxygen compared to what he was on before.
“Covid meant he couldn’t get any sleep studies, so to ensure he was safe, he was on oxygen for six more months. We also had to shield, so we didn’t get to do all the baby classes and meeting fellow families.
“There are so many nurses it’s hard to remember and name everyone. Marnie, Jodie, Tracey, Nicola were all incredible. Jodie wasn’t an ECMO nurse, but she would still come and check on him because she cared so much. Dr Neil Patel and Dr Judith Simpson took extra special care. Even down to the pharmacists, who would explain a lot to you as well. Everyone was tuned in and part of what was happening.
“All you could tell now is a wee hero scar on his neck. He’s a walking, talking miracle. We recently moved and we’re going to do something with his Beads of Courage in his new room to show him he is incredible.”
