Charlotte Dawson reveals it was ‘heartbreaking’ seeing her baby son Jude hooked up to machines when he nearly died from RSV Bronchitis: ‘He’s our little miracle!’

Charlotte Dawson has told how it was ‘heartbreaking’ seeing her five-month-old son Jude ‘hooked up to machines’ when he nearly died from RSV Bronchitis.

The former Ex On The Beach star, 31, had to rush her son to hospital back in October just a few months after he was born after the illness was first dismissed as a cold.

He was then hooked up to oxygen for six days after struggling to breathe and changing colour as the doctors told her he ‘would have died’ if he’d come in a day later.

She has now spoken to Closer about the ‘scary experience’ which she says has ‘put everything into perspective’ as she called Jude her ‘little miracle’.

The star said: ‘It was so scary. He wasn’t feeding and his breathing slowed right down, and he couldn’t catch his breath. Suddenly the colour changed in him, he went really grey.

‘They saw him and straight away they said, ‘Thank God you’ve brought him in now, because he would’ve died if it was 24 hours later.’ I was in utter shock. 

‘When he was getting hooked up to the machines it was heartbreaking. It made me realise what life is about and put everything into perspective. If anything happened to Jude, I don’t know what I would’ve done. He’s our little miracle.’

At the time of the hospital dash in October she shared how thankful she was to have trusted her instinct after an initial doctor had turned them away thinking it was just a cold. 

Charlotte posted a picture of herself cradling her little one close to her chest and holding his hand.

She captioned the post: ‘Trust your motherly instinct. I might be absolutely exhausted but I knew something wasn’t right & it wasn’t. 

‘Our beautiful boy has RSV bronchitis after just saying he had a cold to go home and rest from the doctors. 

‘Thank god we went up to hospital at the right time and the nurses and doctors have been amazing got him straight on oxygen and we will be here until next week, but we are in the right place & in safe hands. 

‘Thank you for all your messages love you all, just got to focus on him getting better now so scary when they are so little & seeing him with all these tubes on him don’t want to let go of him.’ 

According to the NHS, Bronchiolitis is caused by a viral infection, usually the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

RSV is very common and spreads easily in coughs and sneezes. Almost all children have had it by the time they’re two.

Fans and Charlotte’s celebrity friends flooded to her comment section to send their love and well wishes.

Reality star Vicky Pattison wrote: ‘Well done gorgeous girl for acting fast… sending you, Jude and your whole family so much love’ followed by a heart eye emoji.

Singer Rebecca Ferguson added: ‘Lots of love hope he heals quickly’ followed by a some hearts a praying hands. 

The TV personality at the time then took to her stories to update her followers on what had been going on. 

With Jude feeding on her breast, Charlotte joked: ‘He just loves being on mummies boobies, on the udders.’

After thanking her fans for all their kind messages, she went on to say: ‘Obviously last night was just very scary and traumatic and very emotional.’

She told her followers how she had taken Jude to the doctors earlier in the week, but they told her he was a bit chesty, but nothing major. 

They reassured her he would be fine and to keep her eye on him, but to give them a ring if she was worried.

She then went on to say that one night Jude started screaming. She told her followers: ‘I just knew some wasn’t right, it’s a mother’s instinct, you just know something’s not right. He was doing this proper screaming.

‘On the Wednesday night the screaming started again like he was in loads of pain and I just just knew it wasn’t right and it wasn’t like Jude at all. I kept sending Matthew voice notes because he was in the other room and I woke him up and I was like ‘look somethings not right’ here.’

Charlotte took Jude to the doctors again, who told her it could be colic, but that his chest was clear and to go home. They added if she was really worried she could take him to the hospital but would be waiting a while.

Charlotte brought Jude home and then went on to say: ‘The wheezing started, he couldn’t breathe, he was deteriorating massively and still wouldn’t feed on me.’ 

She said she then decided to take him to hospital and said: ‘The nurses said ‘Thank God you’ve come now because his oxygen levels are so low’. They saw me straight away, they were so good with me.

‘His coloring was grey. A horrible, horrible colour. His eyes are all puffy and red and then they took us straight up to the ward and did an X-ray on him. Obviously he had to have bloods and everything. It was traumatic. 

‘It’s just horrible seeing all these tubes in your babies face and even though it’s helping him obviously, and we’re in really safe hands here, it’s just so hard and I had to go out of the room a couple of times.’

Charlotte then said how the tests revealed Jude had RSV bronchitis and because he is so young they would be in hospital for the next few days.

The star reassured fans that she’s seen a change in her little one and has even had a couple of smiles from him, but that he’s really struggling with his breathing.

‘He’s feeding on me which is amazing and on the tube, so I’m pumping away. I’m like Daisy the chuffing cow here!’ she joked.

The mother-of-two, who welcomed her second son, Jude, with rugby player fiancé Matt Sarsfield at the end of July told how she ‘can’t cope with how scary it’s been’.

The pair also share son Noah who turned two in January.