Baby Erin Bates was born in October 2019 with a congenital heart condition that required open-heart surgery, as well as a complication with her windpipe. She spent weeks in and out of hospitals.
In January 2020, Erin became seriously ill with a respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). She was on the way to making a full recovery when her parents, Emma and Wayne, learned that their baby girl had a brand-new battle on her hands.
After trying for a decade to get pregnant, Emma and Wayne had been told they might never conceive naturally. “Erin will be our first and last child,” said Wayne. “She really is a miracle baby for us.”
Upon learning that their baby girl had the virus, the devastated parents were required to separate; Emma, 29, stayed with Erin in the hospital while Wayne was instructed to self-isolate at the family home in Bury, Greater Manchester.
Pictures of baby Erin hooked up to a ventilator in her ICU hospital bed were shared online by various news outlets. Erin’s parents hoped that by being open about their daughter’s distressing condition, others may be encouraged to stay indoors.
Wayne admitted that he takes infractions personally. “People cannot continue to walk around still thinking that they will not get [the CCP virus],” he said. “People need to stay at home, it is the easiest thing ever that we are being asked to do.”
Wayne said their baby girl is “all smiles and talking to herself” since getting the all clear. On April 24 while leaving the ICU, Erin and her mother received a standing ovation from the ward’s medical staff, dressed head to toe in personal protective equipment.
Wayne praised the incredible work of the staff at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital as instrumental in his daughter’s recovery. “Emma and I want to thank them from the bottom of our hearts for all they have done for Erin,” Wayne told the Lancashire Telegraph.
“Never could we have wished for more kind and caring people to be looking after our baby,” he continued. “They are all putting their own lives at risk for little reward. We are eternally grateful.”“Asking for help is the last thing the family have wanted to do,” wrote Johanna Sellars, “but no one expected for Erin to be as poorly as she has been & with this likely to be ongoing for a very long time yet, they need all the help they can get.”
While the months ahead will bring trials of their own, “miracle baby” Erin Bates, and her recovery story against the odds, is offering hope to people everywhere.