A 15-week-old baby was today fighting for his life after "dying" for more than seven minutes following a heart attack.
Tiny Kieron Bird is in a critical condition at Great Ormond Street Hospital after his father managed to revive him.
He has also had two brain haemorrhages, is suffering from pneumonia and has regular fits.
Kieron's parents Paula and Steve Bird have left their Westcliff home to maintain a bedside vigil at the hospital.
Doctors have told them Kieron may have to spend his life in a hospice if he lives.
The unemployed couple's three other children - Shannon and three-year-old twin boys Conner and Seamus - are being looked after by friends.
Lynne Roy, 39, of Claremont Road, Westcliff, a friend of the family, said: "It's just an awful scenario. His dad was at home holding Kieron when he went blue and stopped breathing.
"He called an ambulance and was told how to revive him over the phone. He gave the baby mouth-to-mouth and heart massage and after seven and a half minutes he came back."
Kieron was taken to Southend Hospital and later transferred to Great Ormond Street.
Medics there believe he suffered brain damage and may have lost his sight.
Dozens of local businesses have pledged support for a benefit night to raise funds for Great Ormond Street and the family's travel costs.
Published Friday, May 2, 2003
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