Mom reunites with premature baby after lung transplant

By Charlie Fenton

This is the heartwarming moment a mom recovering from a double lung transplant is reunited with her premature baby.

Aimee Morrison, 37, was undergoing treatment for pneumonia when she was stunned to be told she was three weeks pregnant with her first child.

The mom, from Rotherham, South Yorks., gave birth to her daughter, Jessica, at just 24 weeks and five days pregnant after entering labor prematurely.

Just days later, she suffered a cardiac arrest.

Aimee was resuscitated, put onto advanced respiratory support and added to the lung transplant list at the Royal Papworth Hospital in Cambridge.

Sadly her daughter had to be moved half a mile away to The Rosie Hospital because there is no maternity ward at the Royal Papworth.

The former professional dancer later found a donor and had a life-saving double lung transplant last July.

The adorable video footage captures the moment Aimee was able to hold Jessica, 29 days after she gave birth to her, following recovery from surgery.

Aimee has since thanked the doctors and staff for giving her the chance to be a mom.

She said: "The nurses did my hair, helped me into a chair and I had my first cuddle with Jessica.

"It was incredibly emotional.

"What they have done for me and my family is nothing short of miraculous.

“They didn’t just save my life, they gave me the chance to become a mom.

“I’ve been given a second chance, and Jessica has been given her first.”

“Even in the scariest moments, I always felt safe.

“When I couldn’t speak or move, the nurses still made me feel human - washing my hair, putting on moisturiser, talking to me, reassuring me.

“I wasn’t just a patient, I was a person, and those small acts of kindness meant everything.”

Aimee led a fit and healthy lifestyle and was rarely unwell when she attended A&E at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH), in Nottinghamshire, struggling to breathe in February 2025.

The mom said: “I was getting short of breath just walking upstairs.

“I assumed I was unfit or had a bug and I never imagined it could be anything serious.”

But to her shock following tests doctors diagnosed her with pneumonia.

Pneumonia is inflammation of the lungs usually caused by an infection, according to the NHS.

Doctors have also since revealed that genetic testing revealed Aimee also carries a gene variant believed to have been triggered by pneumonia, contributing to her rapid decline.

But whilst they were treating her, doctors also discovered she was pregnant.

Aimee said: “Being told I was pregnant was the most magical moment of my life.

"I was overwhelmed with happiness, but at the same time filled with anxiety, knowing it was still so early at just three weeks.”

Scans also revealed significant lung abnormalities, but further investigation had to be delayed because of the pregnancy.

She was later sent home with oxygen, but over the following weeks her condition rapidly deteriorated.

Aimee said: “Even rolling over in bed left me breathless.

“I tried not to get up because it took so long to recover.”

Aimee’s midwife referred her back to NUH after becoming concerned by her worsening symptoms in June, and she was later transferred to Royal Papworth Hospital, in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire.

The Royal Papworth is UK's leading specialist heart and lung hospital.

There specialist interstitial lung disease (ILD), critical care and transplant teams worked closely with obstetrics and maternity colleagues at nearby The Rosie Hospital, part of Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, to work out a way to safely deliver Aimee's baby.

Aimee said: “Everyone worked together to give me and my baby the best possible chance.

“I trusted them completely.”

Then in July, Aimee went into premature labor while in the critical care unit at Royal Papworth Hospital.

Her daughter, Jessica, was delivered via caesarean section in one of the hospital’s operating theatres.

She was immediately transferred to The Rosie Hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) to give her the best chance of survival.

The Royal Papworth Hospital does not have a dedicated maternity department.

Jessica weighed just 705g.

But just days later, tragedy struck as Aimee suffered a cardiac arrest.

Doctors resuscitated her and put onto the most advanced form of respiratory support, called ECMO.

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is a specialised, last-resort life support system that pumps blood outside the body to an artificial lung, removing carbon dioxide and adding oxygen before returning it to the body., according to the NHS.

She was also urgently added to the lung transplant list.

But lucky for Aimee later that month, she found a donor and received a life-saving double lung transplant.

Aimee has told that since the surgery, recovery has been long and extremely challenging.

She said she required high levels of oxygen, developed infections, underwent a tracheostomy and temporarily lost the ability to speak or move.

She said: “At one point, I could only move my eyes.

“It was very scary.”

A turning point came when a month later in August critical care nurses arranged for Jessica to be brought to Aimee’s bedside in her incubator.

Until then Aimee had only seen photos of her daughter.

At the time the mom was still very poorly and had a tracheostomy fitted meaning she couldn't speak.

Amy said: "The moment we shared meant so much to me."

Aimee underwent daily physiotherapy and slowly regained strength.

She was eventually weaned off ECMO, had her tracheostomy removed, and relearned how to eat and walk.

Aimee returned home in September 2025, while Jessica continued to receive specialist care at The Rosie, later transferring to the NICU at Doncaster Royal Infirmary to be closer to Aimee.

In December 2025, exactly five months after her early arrival, Jessica was discharged in time for her first Christmas.

Dr. Jas Parmar, Lung Transplant Consultant at Royal Papworth Hospital, said: “It’s heartwarming to see Aimee recovering so well and enjoying time with her daughter.

“This dual miracle is a testament to the expertise, teamwork and compassion of NHS staff across multiple services.

"Aimee faced extraordinary challenges with strength and humour throughout.”