Ari's lungs given the all clear

A full term baby, little Ari Vidler was born with breathing difficulties at Blue Mountains District ANZAC Memorial Hospital in Katoomba.

His condition arose after he inhaled and ingested amniotic fluid prior to his birth, causing him severe breathing difficulties.

Ari's vital signs were poor and it was soon realised that not only did he have fluid on his lungs, but one lung was not working at all. Doctors in the special care nursery made the decision to transfer Ari to Nepean Hospital. Telstra Child Flight was called in to transport the infant, with the chopper delivering Ari to the neonatal intensive care hospital in just 15 minutes.

Doctors at Nepean Hospital worked not only to clear Ari's lungs, but to restore functionality to his lungs. Having corrected Ari's breathing, the tot began to recovered straight away, spending 9 days in neonatal intensive care at Nepean before he was allowed to go home

Five months on, Ari is a healthy, bubbly baby, showing no signs of his ordeal.
Ari's mum Sarah said "Telstra Child Flight and NETS arrived within 4 hours of his birth. They were incredibly professional, patient and reassuring when it came to explaining the situation to us, the panicked parents."

While Sarah says that Ari is quite big for his age, we think he's as cute as pie.