A one-month-old British boy survived his first operation after flying to Italy for treatment after the NHS said he was too ill to go under the knife.
He is now recovering before a second operation to try to save his life.
The seriously ill baby was taken from a Bristol hospital after Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni personally intervened to ensure the sick child could travel to Rome for treatment for a congenital heart condition.
An Italian ambulance landed in Bristol after being loaded onto a specially equipped military plane with specialist doctors.
The baby’s father said Her heart is “overflowing with joy” after her son was successfully airlifted.
Known only as DM, the Italian citizen asked Meloni and her government directly for help and worked closely with the family to transport them to the Italian capital.
A specially modified ambulance being loaded onto a plane with military and medical personnel ready to fly to Bristol to collect the critically ill baby from Bristol Royal Hospital for Children.
The ambulance inside the plane is secured by military personnel and surrounded by medical equipment.
The Italian government-funded ambulance at Bristol Royal Hospital for Children. After arriving, the baby was quickly discharged and taken to an airport ten minutes away.
Speaking to MailOnline, Simon Pillon, the former Italian senator involved in the baby’s transfer, said: “I have just spoken to the father and he told me that the baby is fine and the doctors are impressed with his will to live.”
“He underwent a first operation, but a second operation was postponed so as not to tire him out too much.”
The family is together, including the baby’s four-year-old brother and mother.
Mr Pillon said: “Obviously they want him to get stronger so they can return to the UK but they will have to wait and for now the whole family is in Rome.”
After the successful airlift from Bristol to Rome, The Italian father, originally from Treviso and married to a Nigerian in the UK, expressed his gratitude to everyone involved.
It is understood that the baby’s parents, who have not been identified, were told the specialist that treatment for their son’s congenital heart condition would not be possible in the UK.
Mr Pillon said: “In Britain, doctors had not considered it appropriate to put the boy into surgery. He had been put on palliative care and a hearing was already scheduled for April 22.
‘When they saw the transfer and treatment protocol they were convinced and authorized the transfer.
“At first they had pushed hard for an abortion as soon as the prenatal diagnosis was made, but the parents, both Catholic, refused.”
Following the appeal to Mrs Meloni for help to save her son, this week’s events unfolded at the speed of light and on Tuesday the family was in Rome.
The one-month-old baby seriously ill in a specialized incubator. The family was flown to Rome with the help of the Italian prime minister after his parents asked for help to save their son.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. Meloni and her government helped the baby travel to Rome for life-saving surgery.
Speaking to MailOnline, the Italian father and his wife thanked everyone involved.
The father, who has lived in the UK for many years and also has an older son, said: ‘Both my wife and I have hearts bursting with joy at what is happening.
‘Now we hope that the entire medical process goes well and that our son’s recovery is achieved soon.
‘We sincerely thank the Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, the Undersecretary Alfredo Mantovano and the officials of the Presidency of the Council, including in particular the councilors Nicola Guerzoni and Francesco Farri, who have made their indispensable contribution.
‘A special thanks to the chief doctors, Professor Galletti and Professor Di Chiara, and the staff of the Bambin Gesù pediatric hospital who decided to take the matter seriously.
‘Many thanks also to the deputy diplomatic advisor Alessandro Cattaneo, to the Italian embassy and the Italian consul in London Domenico Bellantone and for the discreet and continuous support provided by the British hospital to follow our son and authorize the transfer without obstacles.
“We thank the Italian Air Force and in particular the Flight Office and the command of the 46th Air Brigade for making the transfer possible.”
A specially adapted ambulance arrived at Bristol Royal Hospital for Children to collect the seriously ill baby.
To prevent the child from being exposed to too many transfers, an innovative solution was found: transferring an Italian ambulance to the United Kingdom.
The family traveled from Bristol Royal Hospital to the Bambino Gesu children’s hospital in Rome in a specially modified ambulance which was then loaded onto a plane funded by the Italian government.
Bristol Royal Hospital, where the baby was being treated for congenital heart disease. Her parents were told that specialist treatment would not be possible in the UK (file image)
The specialized ambulance from the Bambino Gesù hospital arrived on the plane with two chief doctors of cardiac surgery and resuscitation.
The vehicle was then loaded onto the Air Force C-130 and taken to Bristol.
After arriving, the boy was quickly discharged and taken to an airport ten minutes away, where the plane was waiting to take him back to Rome for treatment.
The arrival of the Italian ambulance was the culmination of the worried family’s appeal to the Italian prime minister.
The family had been preparing to launch a legal battle with the hospital and planned to apply to the High Court on Monday.
However, a lengthy court battle was avoided after an agreement was reached whereby the family would be flown to Rome on a plane financed by the Italian government.
After arriving in Rome on Tuesday, the baby was treated at the Vatican-funded Bambino Gesu children’s hospital, where he underwent a double operation.
speaking to The timesThe father thanked the Italian government for its help. He said: “My wife and I are very happy and relieved.”
He also thanked the doctors and nurses at Bristol Royal Hospital “for authorizing and supporting us and our son during this process.”
Simone Pillon, the Italian lawyer representing the parents, said: “We are very pleased to have been able to demonstrate to the UK that it is possible to work together and safely transfer seriously ill children from the UK to Rome for specialist treatment. “. .’
Pillon was involved in the Indi Gregory case last year.
Indi, who suffered from an incurable genetic mitochondrial disease, was at the center of a legal battle last year in which her parents were involved in several High Court and Court of Appeal cases over life-sustaining treatments.
Meloni once again became involved in this case and intervened and made her a citizen in a last-minute legal attempt to get her to a Rome hospital for treatment.
But that attempt failed and his parents Dean Gregory and Claire Staniforth told them they would remove his breathing tube.
She was moved from Queen’s Medical Center in Nottingham (QMC) to a hospice where she died in the early hours of 13 November 2023.
In a statement to the Times, a spokesperson for Bristol Royal Hospital said officials “worked with Bambino Gesu Children’s Hospital to support the safe transfer of a newborn patient to Rome.” Due to patient confidentiality, it would not be appropriate to go into specific details about the patient’s care.’