Family able to stay together as newborn Oscar fought for his life

As newborn Oscar battled life-threatening complications in intensive care at Leeds General infirmary, the Sick Children's Trust gave his parents and siblings a place to stay just minutes from his bedside.

- by Leanne Clarke

Baby Oscar was transferred from Pinderfields Hospital to Leeds General Infirmary in a critical condition.

When Carolyn Heptonstall gave birth to her son Oscar White, she believed the hardest part was over.

Induced at 37 weeks after scans showed he was small, she reassured herself that once he arrived, everything would be fine. But within days, her family's world was turned upside down.

Oscar was born at Pinderfields Hospital and initially appeared well, before developing a distressing grunt that led to his admission to neonatal intensive care. Around 36 hours later, he suddenly became critically unwell.

Oscar had suffered a tension pneumothorax, a life-threatening condition where trapped air caused his heart and lungs to shift inside his chest.