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Home / Lifestyle

How a couple brought their 'dead' premature baby back to life (+watch)

Daily Mail
15 Mar, 2015 08:50 PM4 mins to read

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Kate ordered her husband to take off his shirt and get into the bed to provide extra warmth - and miraculously he gasped for air and opened his eyes. Photo / YouTube

Kate ordered her husband to take off his shirt and get into the bed to provide extra warmth - and miraculously he gasped for air and opened his eyes. Photo / YouTube

First-time parents Kate and David Ogg were heartbroken when they were told one of their twins - born two minutes apart at just 26 weeks - had stopped breathing and had just moments to live.

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Thinking it was the only time they would have with the tiny boy they had already decided to name Jamie, Kate asked to be able to hold the lifeless child, and told David to climb into the hospital bed for a tender embrace.

What happened next was nothing short of a miracle.

In this mother's loving arms, the little boy started moving, and his breathing grew stronger. Hospital staff rushed back to his aid and together brought the baby back to life.

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Five years on, Jamie Ogg is a healthy, happy kid whose biggest problem regarding his troubled entry in the world is having a little brother who tells anyone who'll listen that he used to be dead but now he's alive.

After years of trying to fall pregnant, the Queensland couple were delighted to find out they were having twins - the "pigeon pair" of a boy and girl.

But just six months into the pregnancy they found themselves in the delivery room and facing premature births.

Watch:

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Jamie was born first on March 25, 2010 and his sister Emily followed two minutes later.

"They were both born in their sac but Jamie didn't make a noise when they tore it open. Emily let out a big wail," Ms Ogg told Daily Mail Australia.

"We looked over and everyone was crowding around Jamie - there was about 20 people in the room. The vibe wasn't very good.

"He stopped breathing and his heartbeat was nearly gone. After 20 minutes they stopped working on him."

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The doctor sat on the end of Ms Ogg's hospital bed and asked the couple if they had a name picked out. He then informed them that there was nothing more they could do to save Jamie.

"I saw him gasp but the doctor said it was no use. I took Jamie off the doctor, asked everyone to leave. He was cold and I just wanted him to be warm," she said.

"We had tried for years to have kids and I felt so guilty. I just wanted to cuddle him. I unwrapped him and ordered my husband to take his shirt off and climb into the bed.

"I know it sounds stupid, but if he was still gasping there was still a sign of life so I wasn't going to give up easily.

"We were trying to entice him to stay. We explained his name and that he had a twin that he had to look out for and how hard we tried to have him.

"He suddenly gasped... then he opened his eyes. He was breathing and grabbing Dave's finger.

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"If we had let the doctor walk out of the room with him, Jamie would have been dead."

Jamie and Emily are now about to turn five-years-old and their parents have only recently told them of the miraculous story.

Kate Ogg, her twins Emily and Jamie and their little brother, Charlie. 
Photo / Facebook
Kate Ogg, her twins Emily and Jamie and their little brother, Charlie. Photo / Facebook

"Emily burst into tears, she was really upset and she kept hugging Jamie," Ms Ogg said.

"They love to talk about when they were babies.

"They have a little brother Charlie who loves telling anyone who listens. He'll say: 'When I was born I was fat and the twins were skinny. Jamie was also dead but now he is alive'."

Remarkably, Jamie has not encountered one medical problem in the five years since his birth.

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"He is absolutely fine... the biggest concern they had was cerebral palsy because of the lack of oxygen but there's been nothing," Ms Ogg said.

"It's absolutely astounding. This whole experience makes you cherish them more."

The Ogg family have set up an online community called Jamie's Gift to regularly raise funds for the Miracle Babies Foundation - an organisation that supports premature and sick newborns.

Dave is currently training for an Ironman triathlon in Port Macquarie in May to raise funds.

"He will put his body through a gruelling 3.8km swim, 180km bike and a marathon," Ms Ogg said.

Join the conversation on the Herald Life Facebook page

- Daily Mail

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