A GRATEFUL dad has thanked a charity which provided life-saving care to his newborn son and accommodation to allow the family to stay by their baby’s side.

When little Charlie Dukes arrived on February 7 he was not breathing and his umbilical cord was wrapped twice around his neck.

His parents Nathan and Stephanie, along with older sister Ellie, 10, had been eagerly anticipating the baby’s arrival but Charlie had to be resuscitated and rushed to the intensive care unit of the Great Western Hospital.

Charlie was taken to St Michael’s Hospital in Bristol with concerns he had brain damage. Charity Cots for Tots, who fund an intensive care suite at the hospital, gave the family a place to stay seconds away from their baby.

Nathan, 26, from Penhill said he felt compelled to launch a fundraising appeal for the charity to express his gratitude: He said: “I physically cannot put it into words what they have done for my family. I cannot personally thank them enough that is why I wanted to help.

“It wasn’t so much the accommodation, I would have slept in the foyer if it came to it, it was their knowledge, their caring and their mindfulness. I wasn’t sure if I left the hospital that Charlie would be alive when I got back to Swindon and thanks to them I was always with him.”

After two weeks in hospital the brave baby battled back from the brink and began to make amazing progress, breathing, opening his eyes, crying and feeding through a tube.

As part of his treatment Charlie was placed in an induced state of hypothermia to relieve the pressure on his brain, meaning his parents didn’t get to hold their newborn until he was five days old.

Nathan said his son’s ordeal broke his heart. “It was so traumatic, so painful to have your baby taken away from you.

“I didn’t think we were ever going to take him home to Swindon at one point.

“The staff at the hospital were amazing and the NEST (Newborn Emergency Stabilisation and Transfer Team) were brilliant.”

Charlie has been home for a week and is making good progress. Doctors believe the three-week-old may have cerebral palsy with further hospital tests expected.

Nathan said: “He is a very calm and placid baby,, just waiting for his regular changes and feeds. He comes alive in water, he’ll move his arms and legs around. He’s definitely a fighter.”

Nathan has raised nearly £1,000 for the charity. £420 can pay for two weeks accommodation for the family of a sick baby.

The Cots For Tots appeal raises funds to save the lives of newborn babies.

Their intensive care suite has four cots kitted out with life-saving equipment and helps to treat 750 babies every year. The charity also runs a 12 bed purpose designed family house which gives free accommodation to the families of premature and critically ill babies.

To donate visit justgiving.com/fundraising/charliedukes