THERE is nothing quite as frightening for a parent than when your child simply can’t breathe.

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That’s what faced three year old Chace Turner’s parents when he had a severe bout of croup.

Adam Turner,  Chace’s father told News Of The Area, “The Ambulance were absolutely brilliant.”

From the time the family called 000 in distress it took 18 minutes for the ambulances to arrive and they worked on Chace to stabilise him prior to transporting him to The John Hunter Children’s Hospital.

“It was the scariest day of my life.

“My young fellow, I needed to help him, it was almost like he was choking.”

The lady on the 000 call talked the Turners through what to do while they waited for the three ambulances including a 4WD vehicle to arrive.

It was imperative that they kept Chace awake and lucid even though he appeared to be sliding into unconsciousness.

The ambulance officers worked on Chace for just on an hour on the front lawn to stabilise him prior to transport.

Adam and Chace were then driven with the emergency lights flashing in an ambulance to the hospital in Newcastle.

“I felt useless, there was nothing I could do, my partner called 000 and they told us to keep him lucid,” he said.

Much to the family’s relief, Chace is on the mend, he has been COVID-19 tested (negative), and is being treated with antibiotics and antihistamines for the croup.

The ambulance officer told Mr Turner that this was the worst case of croup he had ever seen.

Adam, Chace and the rest of the family are very grateful to the team at NSW Ambulance and NSW Health that came to their aid in their hour of need.

By Marian SAMPSON