This is the miracle premature baby who beat COVID-19, sepsis and E.coli in eight weeks

A premature baby born weighing just 1lb 11oz has defied all the odds by beating COVID-19 disease, sepsis and Escherichia coli in the first eight weeks of his life. Archie Edwards was born 15 weeks prematurely and had to be resuscitated by medics when he stopped breathing before they put him on a ventilator.

His parents Sheree Murray and Robert Edwards, both 21, feared they were going to lose their boy after he was born without a heartbeat at Burnley General Hospital in Lancashire on December 1, 2020. According to reports, the boy suddenly caught a bacterial infection called E.coli that led to sepsis when he was just five weeks old. Later, tests revealed that the boy had also contracted coronavirus infection. At just 25 weeks, he is still believed to be one of the youngest babies to contract the virus in Britain.

The miracle baby boy, however, battled back to health after he fought off both COVID-19 and sepsis and is currently recovering at the NICU unit of the Burnley General Hospital.

“In the beginning, I was shocked more than anything as I had no complications during the pregnancy.

‘But when we were told about his heartbeat and then the sepsis and covid it was all terrifying.

‘I’ve always wanted to be a mum so I was absolutely over the moon when I found out I was pregnant - and we didn’t want to lose him.

'But he's a fighter, and holding him for the first time felt completely surreal. He was very light, I had him on my chest, the only thing I felt was his head.

‘It was the only thing that made it feel like it was real. I'm so happy with the progress he's made, I'm so proud of him,” Sheree, from Colne, Lancashire, said.

Mr Edwards said they had no indication Archie would be premature as Ms Murray showed no symptoms and were ‘totally shocked’ when she suddenly began to feel crippling pain on November 30.

Ms Murray was at her sister’s home when her water broke and she was rushed to hospital - and just 55 minutes later Archie was born, MailOnline reported.

The boy, who’s due date was March 14, 2021, will hopefully be able to return home around that time.

“I feel like the proudest dad in the world at the moment with everything he's had to go through, everything Ms Murray has done,” Mr Edwards, who is a construction worker, said.

His parents hope Archie, who now weighs just over 3lb, will soon be able to leave the intensive care unit of the hospital.