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Baby joy for mum who lost her toddler to deadly flu
A young mum who tragically lost her baby daughter to deadly flu last Christmas is celebrating the birth of another girl.
Joelle Hughes, from Kent, suffered every parent's worst nightmare, when finding 16-month-old Lula not breathing in her cot.
She'd contracted a deadly strain of the flu and died less than 24 hours after being struck down with the illness.
"Lula was a perfectly healthy little girl who had only been ill twice in her entire life,” Joelle, also mum to son Teddy, says.
"I went to check her at 11am as we had been doing every few hours throughout the night and I had a horrible feeling before entering the room.
“Once the lights were on I began screaming hysterically. She was blue and wasn't breathing.
"I'd performed CPR on her for 17 minutes before the ambulance arrived but nothing helped bring her back.”
Joelle was 20 weeks pregnant at the time of losing Lula and decided to cancel a gender reveal party and instead find out straight away the sex if the baby.
Both Joelle and fiancé, Kasey Pearce, 22, were over the moon to be expecting another daughter – India.
"Being pregnant helped me get through it, I knew I couldn't give up and I tried my best to stay as healthy as possible for my unborn baby,” she says.
"When we found out we were having another girl I was so happy.
"Nothing would ever replace Lula but knowing I'd have another daughter, which would have been Lula's little sister, gave me so much joy.
"In some of the darkest moments of our lives India has helped keep me going.
"When she was born I finally had another little person to care for and looking back now I don't know how I would have coped without her or Teddy."
India is six months old and will be celebrating her first Christmas in a few weeks' time.
Joelle is now educating other parents about the dangers of the flu virus and how vaccinating both yourself and your children can save lives.
She wants to educate parents about the seriousness of flu and symptoms to look out for.
"My whole family have already had the flu jab this year, we can't take the risk of India or Teddy getting it,” she says.
"Lula was killed by flu in less than 24 hours of it being in her system to so it just shows how dangerous it can be.
"I feel like a part of me died with Lula last year but I try my best to stay strong for other two children.
"The best advice I can give any parents after our ordeal is just to make sure you're as protected as possible, whether that be through vaccines, nasal sprays or just general healthy eating and keeping warm.”
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