{"id":131887,"date":"2023-10-09T14:52:54","date_gmt":"2023-10-09T14:52:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/?p=131887"},"modified":"2023-10-09T14:52:54","modified_gmt":"2023-10-09T14:52:54","slug":"i-woke-up-to-my-baby-coughing-minutes-later-it-stopped-and-i-found-him-dead-next-to-his-twin-brother-the-sun","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/lifestyle\/i-woke-up-to-my-baby-coughing-minutes-later-it-stopped-and-i-found-him-dead-next-to-his-twin-brother-the-sun\/","title":{"rendered":"I woke up to my baby coughing – minutes later it stopped and I found him dead next to his twin brother | The Sun"},"content":{"rendered":"

A MUM found her baby lying dead next to his twin brother after developing what appeared to be a cold. <\/p>\n

Harley Cunningham, 39,\u00a0has described the \u201cstabbing pain\u201d she still experiences from the grief of losing son James and seeing his twin Edwards who looks "exactly like him". <\/p>\n


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In the early hours of a morning in February 2020, Surrey-based Harley screamed when she found baby James \u201clifeless and a little bit grey\u201d in his cot after a night of coughing.<\/p>\n

Harley called an ambulance while her husband Peter, 40, performed CPR on their 21 month old son.<\/p>\n

Paramedics spent half an hour trying to resuscitate him, but could not, and he was taken into hospital and officially pronounced dead.<\/p>\n

Harley said: \u201cIt felt like a dream, and I felt so numb, it was like walking on air but in such a bad way.\u201d<\/p>\n

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In the postmortem, it was discovered that James\u2019 symptoms were a sign of bronchopneumonia, a type of pneumonia. <\/p>\n

The condition, which affects the lungs, is the leading cause of death in children under five. <\/p>\n

James' passing was only made more painful by the \u201cunexpected flashbacks\u201d the mum gets at times from the sight of James\u2019 identical twin Edward.<\/p>\n

"Edward and James were 99.9 per cent identical, and every so often, when Edward\u2019s hair is all wet and across the other side of his face, he looks exactly like James, and I get unexpected flashbacks, which is hard \u2013 it\u2019s like a stabbing pain in the heart," she explained. <\/p>\n

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\u201cThe shock and trauma of my son passing away and having to still get up every day and function as a mum to his twin brother, Edward, was the toughest situation I\u2019ve ever had to deal with."<\/p>\n

In September 2019, James contracted a viral infection which gave him cold symptoms and he was coughing and wheezing.<\/p>\n

From then on, around every three months, James was taken to hospital or accident and emergency, and given steroids or an inhaler.<\/p>\n

In February 2020, at 21 months old, James appeared to have another round of cold symptoms.<\/p>\n

Harley explained: \u201cI came home from work and James was on the sofa with my husband and he was very tired \u2013 he had been a lot worse in the past so it didn\u2019t ring alarm bells.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt around midnight, I checked on the twins, and again at 4am, and James was coughing so I gave him some water in a sippy cup.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I woke up to go to the toilet, I could hear James coughing, and I went back into the room, but two minutes later, I couldn\u2019t hear James at all.<\/p>\n

\u201cI grabbed Edward and moved him into my bedroom because I didn\u2019t want him to see anything.<\/p>\n

\u201cJames was lifeless and a little bit grey, and I screamed \u2013 he was dead.\u201d<\/p>\n

In March, the family had James\u2019 funeral, but because of Covid, they were not able to hug their loved ones, which Harley thinks \u201cprolonged their grieving process\u201d.<\/p>\n

Just a few months later, Harley had a miscarriage, and this additional grief made James\u2019 death, \u201creally hit home\u201d and she contacted Twins Trust Bereavement Service.<\/p>\n

Harley said: \u201cTwins Trust was amazing, I had a befriender in the early days who spoke to me as and when I needed support.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes I couldn\u2019t speak and I didn\u2019t want to speak.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember crying on the sofa for an hour with my befriender and she listened to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Harley found her colleagues\u00a0were not sure how to approach the subject and it made her realise that she wanted to help provide more support for the bereaved in the workplace.<\/p>\n

So, Harley created a hug in a box, a gift box packed with food vouchers, a book about grief, seed packets, a mindfulness colouring book and her own personal story, for managers to send to their bereaved employees.<\/p>\n

Her workplace has also improved its bereavement policy by launching a further five compassionate days of paid leave.<\/p>\n

Since then, Harley has received two awards for her work \u2013 she was named Best Returner at the Women in Tech Excellence Awards in 2022, and in June 2023, she was presented with the It Can Happen Founders\u2019 Choice Award for outstanding service to mental health.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have mixed feelings about (the awards),\u201d Harley said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt sad I had to get the awards as James had died, but I was really happy that all the work I had done was helping other people in James\u2019s honour.\u201d<\/p>\n

In January 2023, Harley welcomed another baby, John, into the family.<\/p>\n

She said: \u201cI had a second miscarriage the year before, so I was worried and had a bit of anxiety around sleeping.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut now he is older, I feel a lot better, especially because he hasn\u2019t had any of James\u2019 cold symptoms.\u201d<\/p>\n

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She is now doing bereavement counsellor training to set up workshops and drop-ins with her colleagues who have experienced bereavement, and has become a Twins Trust befriender.<\/p>\n

Baby Loss Awareness Week runs from October 9 to 15, for support go to babyloss-awareness.org or contact twinstrust.org. <\/p>\n

What are the signs and symptoms of pneumonia?<\/h3>\n

The symptoms vary depending on the age of the child and also the precise cause of the infection.<\/p>\n

In general, the key symptoms for children are a temperature over 38.5\u00b0C and rapid breathing, or difficulty in breathing.<\/p>\n

Other common symptoms include:<\/p>\n