A MUM wants to thank Basildon Hospital after quick-thinking doctors saved her 11-year-old son’s life when his bowel had enlarged so much that it was crushing his lungs.

Verity Slater thought it was nothing more than a sickness bug when son Theo became unwell.

However, the 33-year-old mum began to worry when Theo’s condition started to deteriorate and he turned yellow. After a 999 call, Theo - who attends The Pioneer School, in Basildon - was rushed to Basildon Hospital where he was deemed a medical emergency.

Mum Verity said: “We were warned he might not survive the surgery to have his bowel removed. We found out his bowel was in fact dead - his organs were struggling and he had sepsis.”

“We have since learnt that a blood clot may have caused this and stopped the blood supply to his bowel.”

A CT scan revealed Theo’s bowel had enlarged so much that it was crushing his lungs.

After the operation, doctors arranged an intensive care ambulance to transfer Theo to St Mary’s Hospital, in London, and told the family he may not survive the transfer.

The mum-of-four added: “It was all so sudden and so shocking, we barely had time to process it all.

“Theo is now fighting for his life at St Mary’s and he is being looked after amazingly but it’s early days.

“We don’t know what the future will hold, but what we do know is Theo wouldn’t be here at all and given the chance to survive this if it wasn’t for staff at Basildon.

“St Mary’s have praised Basildon and said they did an amazing job for a child that was that sick, that their quick decisions at every point no doubt saved Theo, and he would not be here at all if they didn’t operate exactly when they did.”

Theo suffers from epilepsy, autism and has a mental age of an 18-month-old. He is non verbal and communicates with Makaton.

Verity, added: “He is always full of smiles.

“Everyone that meets Theo falls in love with him, he is always ready for a cuddle and loves everyone he meets.

“He’s always been a fighter and has had many serious seizures that have resulted in long hospital stays when he was younger.

“ but for many years, he has been physically healthy and doesn’t even seem to catch anything. This is his biggest fight yet.”