The family is giving back to the charities that helped Griffin recover
A Tauranga mum left "grappling with the news that our son might not wake up" has made it her mission to give back to the charities that helped him recover.
A dog lead accidentally got caught around then-3-year-old Griffin Sievwright's neck on December 10 as he used it to abseildown a slide at the family home.
Emma Sievwright's husband Michael had been playing with Griffin, his twin brother Mateo and their oldest Angus, 5, on the outside play set but headed inside to start dinner.
"Next thing we knew Griffin somehow got the dog lead caught around his neck," she said.
"Teo ran inside to get Dad, and he basically found Griffin strangled on the slide."
She said the "distraught" Michael did a "phenomenal job" of starting CPR and carrying Griffin out to the street. He was "yelling and screaming" to neighbours for help.
A neighbour, who was a nurse, took over CPR while Michael rang 111.
Griffin was intubated at Tauranga Hospital within 15 minutes of the call to emergency services.
Griffin was sent multiple flamingo toys during his time in hospital. Photo / Supplied
Hours later he was flown in the TECT Rescue Helicopter to Starship Hospital where the Tauranga family ended up spending the next three weeks.
Sievwright said at the start of Griffin's hospital stint the family was "grappling with the news that our son might not wake up".
After arriving at Starship he was put on a cooling blanket for 72 hours, which Sievwright said "gives the brain the best chance to heal" after an asphyxiation injury.
During this time they could not do any tests or MRI scans, she said.
"[There are] no words you can use to describe the level of pain and the unknown.
"It was the most horrific 72 hours of my life - because they couldn't tell us then if he would wake up.
"We just kind of went into survival mode - it's amazing what your body can do on lack of sleep. We just felt sick the whole time," she said.
"You were just kind of numb - and you can't help but think about the worst-case scenario."
She said it was "quite a significant moment" when Griffin came off the cooling blanket and his MRI scan returned as normal.
"We had been waiting for days and days," she said.
"I thought we are going to be alright, I could see he was coming back to us."
She described her son as "very kind and caring - but he definitely has a cheeky side".
Griffin's favourite animal was a flamingo and he was sent multiple flamingo soft toys of all different sizes.
He also loved the colours pink and purple, she said.
The couple stayed at Ronald McDonald House during this time and said the facility helped ease the pressure while they were facing "immense pain".
Ronald McDonald House offers families a place to stay while their children are in hospital. The average length of stay is seven days, but many stay for weeks and months.
"Nothing was a problem. You have got so much to worry about when you have got a kid at Starship, they just took care of the other stuff.
"We were a few minutes walk from my boy and could be there every morning for doctor's rounds, read him his favourite stories, help the nurses with his care routine, and kiss him goodnight."
Staff "organised everything" down to toothbrushes and pushchairs for the family, she said.
She said it was a "vital service" that served many families with unwell children travelling from outside Auckland.
"It blows my mind we have to fundraise for something like this - that they have to be a charity. I think it should be a given."
Sievwright has made it her mission to raise funds for the services that supported the family through his recovery.
Griffin,4, has fully recovered after spending three weeks at Starship Hospital late last year. Photo / Andrew Warner
Last month she raised $20,000 for Ronald McDonald House through a "Donate to Dine" event that brought more than 100 people together at Tauranga restaurant Sugo.
She was motivated to fundraise for other families "to have the same support in their dark hours".
Sievwright plans to fundraise for the TECT Rescue Helicopter with another Donate to Dine event at Sugo on November 24. She said Griffin's accident "highlighted the huge need for all the organisations involved".
"We just thought we need to do something. We are one of those good stories that come out of ICU at Starship - so we just wanted to raise awareness that we need all of these services."
It was her goal to host a fundraiser every three months to give back to the "little guys" who were under pressure and did not have the time to focus on fundraising.
"We are so fortunate for all the services we have. Fundamentally I know we can raise money, and money helps. So try to give back, if you are able to."
