Mum who tragically lost two babies within 12 months brings her 'miracle son' home

Sharon Proudfoot, 35, has experienced more heartache in the last three years than most people do in a lifetime.

But her little bundle of joy Oscar has given her a reason to smile again and look to the future.

Oscar was born in the Royal Alexandra in Paisley on June 17 and spent the first eleven weeks of his life in hospital, but now he is home and it means the world to his mum.

Sharon, of Sutherland Road, said: "He's a very special baby - a wee miracle.

"I suffered from reverse blood flow in the umbilical cord which meant he was getting less blood than he should.

"His heart rate dropped, so the doctors had to get him out early.

"I was up at Inverclyde Royal at 11.30am for a scan and was told to get to the Royal Alexandra.

"We got there an hour later and he was born at 3.55pm.

"He was eleven weeks premature and weighed 2lb 4oz.

"We nearly lost him a few times.

"He had an abdominal infection and contracted sepsis.

"He was transferred to the neo-natal unit at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and was on life support in the neo-natal intensive care unit for seven days before going back to the RAH."

Thankfully the little fighter pulled through and Sharon and her husband were thrilled when he was allowed home, albeit with an oxygen supply, last month.

The joy has been tinged with sadness as three years ago Sharon gave birth to son Lucas, who was also delivered early due to the same high risk condition.

Sharon said: "He was born 14 weeks early at the Princess Royal Hospital in Glasgow and only weighed a pound.

"He contracted sepsis and passed away at three weeks and six days.

"I got a call at 8am to say Lucas was ill.

"I said 'is he gone?' but they didn't want to tell me over the phone.

"They finally told me he had died but that they would keep him on the life support machine until we got there.

"I was told he had died from sudden death syndrome.

"That was really hard to deal with."

Sharon, who also has a 12-year-old son, James, suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and received counselling from a psychologist and support from the Brightest Star charity.

She said: "Oscar is identical to Lucas.

"He looked very like him and it was so heartbreaking seeing him on the same machines.

"I was so frightened I was going to lose him too."

The loss of Lucas meant further tragedy for Sharon after she endured delivering her stillborn second son, Ethan, in 2015.

Sharon said: "That was very traumatic, knowing I had to carry him and deliver him.

"I had to book myself in to the RAH and I was told that if someone was having a baby they would be given priority.

"Afterward the first thing I head was the sound of a baby crying next to me.

"That was really hard.

"It was the only natural birth I've ever had, because I had pre-eclampsia with James."

Sharon said the pain she felt after losing Ethan was so unbearable that she hid herself away.

She said: "I had bought Ethan's pram, his cot - everything.

"I had to pack it all up and take it back.

"I couldn't cope, I hid away from people.

"If I smiled I felt guilty, if I cried I was upsetting everyone else.

"I saw a psychologist and was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress syndrome.

"It was the most horrible 12 months but I have a 12-year-old who needs me.

"I think James saved me from myself a few times.

"I had to be his mum and he looked to me."

Sharon admits she and her husband went through some soul searching over whether to try again for another baby and also sought medical advice.

Then just weeks before she found out she was pregnant last December, she was hit by another terrible blow, losing her mum, Jean Campbell, at the age of only 67.

She said: "It was sudden. Mum had gone into hospital with a pain in her side but scans didn't show it.

"It was only after she had died that we found out that she had a blood clot in the lung.

"I always say when mum passed away she left me Oscar as a present."

Although he is now home little Oscar is not out of the woods yet.

Medics say he will need an extra oxygen supply for six months.

Sharon said: "Oscar has chronic lung disease and we just won’t know the full effects until he is bigger."

Meantime, the new addition is a big hit with all the family, but especially with his doting big brother James.

Sharon said: "He's never got to hold his little brothers before so the nurses made sure he was involved and showed him how to hold him.

"It's really special seeing the two of them together and James gets all the smiles."

James, a pupil at Notre Dame High, said: "I love him.

"I'm looking forward to spending time with him."

Sharon says she is taking things a day at a time and enjoying every minute with her newborn, who is thriving.

She said: "He's a wee guzzler.

"He is now 9lbs 13oz and he gets 'hangry' if he doesn't get his feed on time.

"One of his nurses even called him Victor Meldrew."

Sharon says it was difficult juggling the time to see Oscar in the hospital in Glasgow every day and being there for her oldest son.

She said: "I got home after a week but Oscar was in hospital for eleven weeks.

"It was hard trying to maintain the home and be there for James.

"He has Asperger's, so he is very routine.

"It's been a very difficult few months."

Sharon says the counselling and support she has received from Brightest Star has been a lifeline to the whole family.

She said: "James got play therapy and having that support was really important."

Sharon is also full of praise for the nurses at the special baby unit in the RAH and is making an appeal for baby grows, vests and muslin squares to be donated to it.

She said: "The unit is amazing.

"They will never know how much they helped us.

"All the staff work so hard, they are real-life superheroes."