Thriving girl reunited with lifesaving ambulance crews after emergency at two days old

A young couple who endured every parent's worst nightmare when their two-day-old baby suddenly stopped breathing have been reunited with the East of England Ambulance Service crews who helped save her life.

Charlotte Buffrey and her husband, Cameron, made the emotional reunion after being overwhelmed by the remarkable recovery their daughter, Philippa, has made since the incident.

The family wanted to personally thank the ambulance clinicians who responded to their home in Claydon, near Ipswich, and show them how well Philippa is doing.

The reunion took place at Bury Ambulance Hub, where Charlotte, Cameron and Philippa met the crews involved in her care.

On 26 November 2025, shortly after bringing their newborn daughter home from hospital, the couple were settling into life as first-time parents when Philippa suddenly turned grey and stopped breathing.

Charlotte immediately called 999 while Cameron began CPR, drawing on lifesaving skills he had learned through his work in education.

The bystander CPR he provided before emergency crews arrived became a vital link in Philippa's chain of survival and gave her the best possible chance of recovery.

The call was categorised as a Category 1 emergency and an ambulance was immediately dispatched.

Paramedic Cerys Brown, Emergency Care Assistant Alexander Kings and Student Paramedic Emily Howlett arrived within four minutes of the call. They were joined shortly afterwards by Advanced Paramedic in Critical Care Liam Sagi, who was beginning his shift with the Suffolk Accident Rescue Service and arrived on scene within seven minutes.

Working together, the team delivered advanced lifesaving care, taking turns to perform CPR, securing Philippa's airway and administering emergency medication.

Thankfully, Philippa began breathing again and her condition quickly improved.

Given the seriousness of the incident, the critical care desk also dispatched Essex & Herts Air Ambulance, an additional ambulance and an ambulance officer to support the response.

Philippa spent three weeks in hospital recovering. Despite extensive investigations, doctors have been unable to determine the cause of her cardiorespiratory arrest. Now a happy and thriving little girl, Philippa was able to meet the ambulance crews who played such an important role in giving her the opportunity to grow up alongside her family.

Charlotte said:

"It was wonderful to meet the crews again and fill in some of the blanks about what happened that day.

"We got in touch because we wanted them to know how well Philippa is doing and what a difference they made to our family.

"We'll never be able to thank them enough for what they did. Without their skill, professionalism and quick response, things could have turned out very differently."

Paramedic Cerys Brown said:

"It was incredibly special to see Philippa again.

"When we first met her, she was a very poorly baby and we were doing everything we could to save her life. To see her now crawling around, exploring and full of curiosity is amazing.

"I was reading her stories about ambulances and she was playing with my keychain. Moments like this are why we do the job. This really is one of the best days of my career.”