Bella’s story

Holly Lapira will never forget the day our crew treated her little girl, Bella. Bella and her brother Louis had spent the day at their granny’s house. When it was time to leave, Holly couldn’t find her daughter.

Every parent knows that feeling when you lose sight of your child” Holly explains, “It’s normally followed by relief when you find them. However, this time, the feeling didn’t end. It was every parent’s worst nightmare.

As Holly searched, her mum told neighbours to check their pond. Then Holly saw something that made her heart sink. “Mum’s neighbour was screaming. I could see a pink jumper in his arms”, she recalls, “I knew it was Bella. My world crumbled.”

Bella was floppy, grey in colour, and her eyes were half open. Holly immediately started CPR, while the neighbour called 999. A minute or so later, Holly’s mum took over CPR.

making a difference when every minute matters

Two minutes after the 999 call was made, a Thames Valley Air Ambulance crew was dispatched. They arrived on scene nine minutes later.  

Bella was in cardiac arrest, so her heart was not pumping blood effectively. Thames Valley Air Ambulance and South Central Ambulance Service took over Bella’s CPR.  

Although Bella was in cardiac arrest, her heart rhythm meant crews could not deliver a shock with a defibrillator. The critical care paramedic and doctor crew quickly intubated Bella and gained access to her veins, so they could give her drugs to help get her heart going again. Bella was also very cold, so they started warming her. 

Just under twenty minutes later, Bella’s heart started beating on its own. She started to breathe again.  

However, Bella remained perilously ill. The crew decided to anaesthetise Bella, to control her breathing and protect her brain. They gave her some warm fluids and antibiotics to prevent infection.  

Bella’s survival wasn’t a miracle. We have our little girl with us because of the care she received when time was so crucial. Because of Thames Valley Air Ambulance, we are still a family. Every time I get to plait my little girl’s hair, I think of the people who saved her.