A Carterton family has donated their £10,000 Covid business grant to the JR Hospital to thank staff for the exceptional care they received when their newborn baby’s life was in danger.

Alexander and May May Sullivan were busy running the Peking Chef Chinese takeaway when their daughter Tippi was due at the hospital’s Women’s Centre in 2015.

The pregnancy had been normal up until the point Mrs Sullivan’s waters broke just over a month early.

Mr Sullivan recalled: “I locked up shop and rushed down to the hospital. We were largely oblivious to the seriousness of what was happening.

"After 24 hours in hospital waiting, labour was induced and then it seemed like everything fell apart. May May started bleeding and the monitors were beeping. The team of nurses rushed in and May May had an emergency C-section.

“I felt totally useless, unable to help. I believed we’d lost Tippi and didn’t know what to do so I was standing in the maternity suite alone, in scrubs, for the first time in my life trying to pray for the life of my wife and daughter.”

A midwife, Ita, told Mr Sullivan it was a case of undiagnosed Vasa Previa – a condition in which foetal blood vessels cross or run near the opening of the uterus. These vessels can rupture as they are unsupported by the umbilical cord or placental tissue, leading to infant death.

When Vasa Previa isn’t picked up early in scans there is a 60 to 70 per cent mortality rate.

The family, who live near Carterton, stayed in the JR for just under a week as Mrs Sullivan recovered.

Mr Sullivan said: “Meeting Tippi was a roller coaster ride of emotion. From the worst to the best day of my life.”

In March 2020 the takeaway received a Covid small business grant from West Oxfordshire District Council to help them through the uncertainty at the start of the pandemic when many shops were shutting.

He said: “Our business dipped when the virus was linked to China and then dipped more when there was panic buying in the supermarkets.

“The other Chinese takeaways all closed and two of our suppliers closed. There were shortages of flour, beef, shrimp and pineapple but we stayed open and continued to serve Carterton, RAF Brize Norton and the community.”

But as the pandemic progressed they realised they had actually never been so busy as people looked to the takeaway for a weekly treat. Now they feel they have made it through to the other side.

Mr Sullivan said: “We all clapped for the NHS and carers every Thursday and Tippi and her friends made rainbows.

“We knew where the £10,000 should really go – the NHS. We chose the specialist Silver Star Society because we wanted to support maternity services in Oxfordshire. Many of our customers have also gone through terrible ordeals and been helped so much by the wonderful team at the Women’s Centre.”

Maggie Findlay of the Silver Star Society said: "Thank you May May, Alex and Tippi for your wonderful generosity!

"We, at the Silver Star Society deeply appreciate your donation. Your help will strengthen maternity services in Oxford and is invaluable."