How a Harborough mum has thanked the wonderful hospital medics who are looking her baby son as he battles a serious heart problem

An inspirational Market Harborough mum has praised hospital medics looking after her baby son as he battles a serious heart problem.

Amy Hillier, 30, hailed her “fantastic” neighbours as they rallied round to boost exhausted frontline NHS staff and other key workers at Kettering General Hospital.

The dance teacher leapt into action amid the Covid-19 lockdown as doctors and nurses at the children’s Skylark Ward are giving her sick tiny boy Rex the best possible treatment.

Amy’s effort to salute critical workers is even more incredible because her two other children Jamie, seven, and Harper, two, are also battling their own health challenges.

“It’s a crazy time for all of us right now in the middle of this coronavirus lockdown.

“But it’s just gone totally off the scale for me and my husband David,” admitted Amy, who lives on the Tungstone estate in Harborough.

“The last few weeks have been completely mad.

“But we were all determined to do something to say a huge thank you to the NHS – and other key workers too.

“Doctors and nurses at Kettering hospital are doing such a brilliant job looking after Rex as well as Jamie and Harper.

“They were already stretched to the limit as it was.

“Now they’ve got the devastating Covid-19 pandemic to deal with on top.

“I’ve seen first hand how long it takes every health worker to scrub down and get cleaned up before they are able to see their next patient.

“It can take them 20-30 minutes before they can treat the next person and it’s a massive effort.

“We simply cannot do enough for these wonderful people caring for us all.”

The compassionate mum-of-three said she dreamed up the goodwill gesture after helping to kickstart “isolation bingo” games for her neighbours.

“The bingo’s a lot of fun and it’s really lifted off.

“Everyone has donated prizes, including even a coffee machine,” smiled Amy.

“So I appealed to people to help me collect toiletries for the staff at Kettering hospital.

“I’ve been blown away by the response – it’s been phenomenal.

“I put a pasting table at the front of our house and the pile of presents just got bigger and bigger.

“We filled a big Ikea bag full of goodies like shampoos, foot and hand creams, moisturisers, shower gels, perfume and aftershave.

“It was that hefty my husband struggled to take it in!

“The staff were so thrilled.

“They have received a mountain of chocolates from grateful people and that’s fine.

“But they can only eat so many chocolates!

“These gifts will be useful and practical and make them feel so good in these hard times.”

Diabetic Amy, who runs Miss Amy’s Academy of Dance on Abbey Street, Harborough, said baby Rex was born nine weeks premature six months ago.

“Rex has a heart condition known as Patent ductus arteriosus – or PDA.

“We all have a certain key valve open when we are born.

“But it will close in almost all babies within 72 hours,” she said.

“Rex’s valve hasn’t shut – and it’s become a massive issue.

“He’s had lots of medication, he hasn’t been able to put on weight and he’s always got ‘wet lungs’.

“He’s especially susceptible to this horrific virus because he’s got a respiratory problem and he’s so ill.

“But our Rex is always happy, always smiling.

“And he’s a real little fighter – we just love him to bits.”

Amy said Rex has been in and out of Kettering hospital since he came along.

“It’s obviously so much harder now because so many regular clinical appointments have had to be cancelled due to the coronavirus,” she said.

“Rex has been tested for it three times already and thank goodness he’s been clear every time.

“He’s been struggling.

“But we are hoping now that he has the life-changing surgery he needs so badly on his heart in Birmingham in the next six weeks.”

Amy said her oldest child Jamie also had to go into Kettering hospital at the start of March with a severe viral infection.

“He wasn’t very well but he’s now recovering at home.

“And Harper, who’s just two, was due to have urgent surgery on a hernia when this crisis blew up,” said the inspiring mum.

“You just couldn’t make it up!”

As well as NHS heroes, Amy also saluted her amazing husband David, 34, who works at popular Harborough town centre baker’s Wesses.

“He’s been an absolute star.

“He works from 10pm-4am every night at Wesses before helping to look after us and making frequent trips in and out of hospital,” she said.

“He’s shattered but because we are all self-isolating he’s having to go the extra mile and he’s been incredible.”

Flat-out Amy’s also battling to keep up with her 200 pumped-up dance pupils online.

“I’ve been running the school five years and it was going really well until the lockdown hit us,” she said.

“I’m busy uploading practice videos for the kids at the moment and we can’t wait to get started for real again.”

If you would like to find out more about Miss Amy’s Academy of Dance and support this extraordinary mum please visit her Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/missamysacademyofdance/