A BABY born with two rare conditions was forced to undergo six hours of surgery at just a day old and was in an induced coma for 18 days.

And now, her parents have spoken out in praise of the Sick Children’s Trust, whose Stevenson House accommodation meant the youngster’s dad, Andrew Bullock, 36, could stay just minutes away from the Royal London Children’s Hospital – rather than 30 miles away at their East Tilbury home.

Baby Poppy was rushed to the hospital from Basildon Hospital while her mum, Sam, 32, was still waiting to be discharged.

Following the major surgery to repair her oesophagus, Poppy was put into an induced coma. But now, at 18-months-old she’s doing well and managing to eat – something her parents were told she would never do.

Sam said: “The doctors broke the news to me at Basildon Hospital that my daughter had two rare conditions, trachea-oesophageal fistula and oesophageal atresia.

“It became clear that something wasn’t quite right when Poppy was struggling to feed. We never thought that, at just a day old, she’d need major surgery on her oesophagus as it was causing her problems with eating and breathing.

“There wasn’t enough time to think about the whys, what ifs and how it came to this. Our daughter was sick and the fear that she might not even survive the ambulance journey was all-consuming.”

Andrew was immediately put up at Stevenson House, thanks to the Sick Children’s Trust, and Sam joined him when she was released from Basildon Hospital.

Over the next few months, the family, including their two other children, split their time between Stevenson House and home.

Sam added: “Stevenson House was so important as it meant that during this crucial time in our daughter’s life we were only ever a few minutes away. Finally, at 18 days old Poppy was brought out of her induced coma and I was able to hold her the next day. She opened her eyes and melted my heart.

“It felt like Poppy was finally making progress and we could be there to see it for ourselves and help her because of Stevenson House

“Being supported by The Sick Children’s Trust meant that we could be really involved in Poppy’s care because we were only ever a few minutes away and could be on the newborn intensive care unit whenever. Without Stevenson House there, it would’ve been a lot harder to gain the skills to look after our daughter and spend as much time with her.”