Toddler 'lucky to be alive' after 20ft fall

A toddler is lucky to be alive after falling 20ft from a first-floor window and fracturing his skull on the patio below.

Freddie Downing, three, underwent emergency surgery following the accident at his home in Bradworthy, north Devon.

His mum Andrea said the swift actions of the Devon Air Ambulance that took him to Plymouth, and then on to Bristol, saved his life.

Freddie, a twin, was playing in his big sister Maisie's room when the accident happened.

Distraught, Mrs Downing ran out to find her son lying on a patio slab crying and shouting but unable to open his eyes.

She said: "I was in complete shock. I just couldn't believe he had fallen that far and survived."

The family was airlifted to Derriford Hospital in Plymouth and during the journey Freddie appeared to have a fit.

Mrs Downing, a management consultant, said: "It was terrifying. We were rushed into emergency and there were loads of people there waiting for us.

"Very quickly they realised Freddie had a skull fracture and he would have to go to Bristol."

The second Devon Air Ambulance arrived and took Freddie and a team of medics on to Frenchay Hospital with his distraught parents, Mrs Downing and husband Simon, following behind in their car.

She said: "It was the longest drive of my life. We knew Freddie was in the best possible hands but we didn't want to leave him. It was awful." Freddie had already undergone major surgery by the time his parents arrived as doctors had found swelling and blood clots on his brain.

However they were too small to remove and he was wired up to a pressure monitor and transferred to intensive care.

Andrea said: "It was the worst thing I have ever had to see – my son covered in tubes in intensive care. The nurses were brilliant but I just felt so helpless."

Freddie underwent another operation a few days later. Then medics tried to wake him up and take the breathing tube away but he was not strong enough to cope.

Doctors discovered he had a lung infection and he was transferred to Bristol Children's Hospital.

Andrea said: "Once he was awake, even though Freddie was still hooked up to everything and not really talking, he knew who we were and wanted to give us a kiss.

"Once the drain was removed Freddie went from strength to strength and started walking around. We could even take him to the playroom. It was such a relief."

Freddie's fall was on Christmas Day and he was able to return home on January 12. His mum said as soon as he was back home with his twin sister Minnie, and siblings Maisie, six, and Eden, four, he was back to normal.

Andrea said: "Freddie doesn't seem to be any different and the only thing I have noticed is that he has stopped sucking his thumb.

"It just feels like it didn't really happen. There are so many what-ifs.

"The window has now been screwed shut and will be replaced."

She said the windowsill in Maisie's room was high up. It did not have a lock as she never thought the children would climb up to it.

Andrea praised the hospital teams at Plymouth and Bristol, as well as the air ambulance. She said: "The air ambulance really did save Freddie's life. The team was absolutely incredible."