“Thank God”— Parents describe the hour their newborn son who had no heartbeat was “brought back to life”

A baby boy in Kent, England, was born without a heartbeat and revived after an hour of emergency surgery. More than a month later, he is still recovering in a London hospital. Luca was delivered by emergency cesarean section on May 26 after his mother, 17-year-old Demi Duffin, could no longer feel him moving. Doctors have since performed three operations to treat a rare birth defect that had been called mild during pregnancy.

Three months into her pregnancy, scans showed Luca had gastroschisis, a condition where part of the bowel develops outside the abdominal wall. Doctors told Demi and her partner, 19-year-old Charlie Hayes, the condition was not severe. The pregnancy continued without further complications for months.

A Second Scare Turns Serious

At 30 weeks pregnant, Demi noticed Luca had stopped moving. She went to the hospital, where she was examined and told his bowels were fine. She was sent home with plans to be monitored every few weeks at Medway Maritime Hospital in Gillingham.

Less than two weeks later, on May 26, it happened again. This time, doctors at Medway found something far more serious. Luca’s heart rate had flatlined.

Within an hour, Demi was in emergency surgery. Luca was delivered seven weeks early, weighing just 3 pounds, 5 ounces. He had no heartbeat.

Doctors worked on him for about an hour. “Seeing him born dead was so hard,” Charlie said. “It’s the longest hour I’ve ever been through. But thank God the hospital brought him back to life.”

Three Surgeries, One Fragile Recovery

Luca was transferred to The Royal London Hospital, where surgeons began placing his bowel back inside his abdomen. He has needed two additional surgeries since then and spent weeks on a ventilator to help him breathe. He came off it in late June, though he remains hospitalized while doctors continue to monitor him.

For weeks, the couple could only watch from beside his incubator. Then came a moment they say they will never forget: their first skin-to-skin contact with their son.

“That was amazing,” Charlie said. “It was quite literally like holding my world in my hands. I’ll never forget that moment.”

Doctors have been careful not to offer false reassurance. They have told the family that Luca’s condition could still worsen without warning, and that a full recovery, if it comes, will take a long time.

“All we can do is keep praying,” Charlie said.

Life on Hold, and a Family Leaning on Faith

Charlie has not returned to work since Luca was born, choosing instead to spend most of his days at the hospital. The couple has been staying at a nearby facility run by a children’s charity that houses families of hospitalized children free of charge, but they are now relying on donations to cover food and travel costs.

A GoFundMe campaign set up to support the family has drawn contributions from strangers moved by their story. By late June, the family shared an update: Luca was feeding more each day and had worn his first outfit, both signs the couple has held onto as reasons for hope.

Gastroschisis is more common than many people realize. In the United States, it affects roughly 1 in every 2,300 babies born, according to the CDC’s National Birth Defects Prevention Network. Most infants born with the condition survive with surgery, though the road through the NICU can stretch on for weeks or months.

For Demi and Charlie, that road is still unfolding one day at a time, measured not in milestones but in ounces gained, tubes removed, and the weight of a son they nearly lost, now resting against their chests.