Grateful couple thank 'fantastic' Burnley hospital staff  for saving their son who beat Covid-19 after being born 15 weeks early

Rob Edwards and his partner, Sheree Murray, who are both 21, are now counting down the days when they can bring tiny eight week old Archie home after he arrived in the world on December 1st.

Rob said: "It is looking like Archie will be able to come home mid March if he continues to do well.

"The staff who have looked after him have been fantastic, we can't thank them enough."

Doctors told the Colne couple Archie arrived so early as he had an infection while in the womb. Sheree went into labour and after she was rushed to hosptal Archie was born after just 55 minutes.

Weighing just 1lb 11 oz, Archie had to be resusicitated as he wasn't breathing. He was taken to the Neonatal and Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and placed on a ventilator to help him breathe.

The couple could not even touch their little boy for the first four days of his life.

Construction worker Rob, a former pupil of Fisher More RC High School in Colne, said: "You just feel so helpless as a parent ."

It was a special moment when Rob and Sheree, who have been together for five years, got the chance to hold their son's hand when he was only four days old.

Archie, whose due date was March 14th, caught a bacterial infection that led to sepsis when he was around five weeks old.

Shortly afterwards, former Colne Primet Academy student Sheree, and Rob were devastated when their son tested positive for Covid-19. Archie was put into isolation, and although his parents tested negative for the virus, they weren't allowed to see him for 10 days.

Little battler Archie overcame the virus and the couple were finally able to hold their son properly for the first time.

Rob said: "It was so good to be able to hold Archie and cradle him in our arms, that's all we had wanted to do."

Now weighing in at 3lbs 1oz, medical staff are planning to wean Archie down from the ventilator in the hope he will be able to go on normal oxygen.

Sheree, formerly a mental health student at UCLAN Burnley, and Rob have to take turns to visit Archie as covid rules mean only one person at a time is allowed on the unit.

Rob said: "That has been hard because we haven't been able to support each other when given news about Archie's condition.

"But we have a lot of family around us for support."

And the couple hope the inspiring story of their brave little son will help other parents in a similar position.

Rob said: "We want to give hope to other parents with seriously ill children to see that our child has beaten covid and is putting up a strong fight."