Surgeon told parents 'God is on my side, I will save him'
Jackson Lee was just minutes from death after collapsing at King's Mill
Good morning and welcome to your Thursday briefing from Ashfield News. This week, a family recalls their son being saved, a visitor attraction plan for Lord Byron’s resting place, a police stinger operation on the M1 and much more.
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Boy was minutes from death - but surgeon saved his life
A Nottinghamshire dad has recalled the moment a surgeon told him “God is on my side, I will save him,” as his son was minutes from death.
Jackson Lee was seven when he was taken to Nottingham’s Queen’s Medical Centre after he collapsed at King’s Mill’s A&E.
Medics originally thought Jackson, who is now 11 and from Mansfield, had either appendicitis or gastroenteritis.
But it later emerged he had a hernia and a perforated bowel.
Ten centimetres of his large intestine had pushed through the hernia, and had twisted and died, causing sepsis.
His dad, Matt, said: “They said ‘if we don’t get Jackson into a medically induced coma in the next couple of minutes, there is a good chance he will die.
“You can imagine how horrific it was to hear that as a parent. They whisked Jackson away and it took so long to stabilise him that (Jackon’s mum) Bec and I were convinced he had died.”
Matt and Bec were told not to follow the ambulance as there was a chance the vehicle would need to be pulled over for paramedics to work on their critically-ill son.
At QMC, Bec asked if she could see Jackson and was told no.
“The nurse said ‘he’s got minutes to live and if I don’t take him now he won’t survive.’ It’s a parent’s worst nightmare, I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.”
Jackson was taken to the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit, where Matt and Bec met surgeon Shailinder Singh.
“He was already gowned up and he said ‘don’t worry, God is with me, and I will save him,’” said Matt.
“The doors burst open and Jackson was wheeled in – they didn’t even have time to take him to theatre. Mr Singh did the operation right there on the ward.”
Mr Singh cut out the rotting flesh and several litres of septic fluid were drained away.
Jackson is described as being a lively 11 year old and will start secondary school at All Saints Catholic Academy in Mansfield in September.
Matt and Bec said that if Mr Singh had not been on call that night “there would be no Jackson”.
They have nominated him for a NUH People First Recognition Award.
Bec added: “I know not everyone would have done what he did – with all his experience, what he’s done in his career. I believe there’s no other doctor that would have done what he did and it’s because of that that we still have Jackson today.”
Mr Singh said: “Doing the operation this way enabled me to save a very sick child by operating on him on the trolley in the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit rather than taking them to theatre and giving him general anaesthetic and possibly losing them.”
Visitor experience plan for church
Funding will be provided to create a visitor experience project and make repairs at a historic Ashfield church.
The Church of St Mary Magdalene in Hucknall is the resting place of poet Lord Byron, one of the major figures of the Romantic period.
At a board meeting of Discover Ashfield, an organisation which promotes the district, it was agreed that up to £25,000 will be awarded towards the project.
There is an allocation of funds within the UK Shared Prosperity Fund programme to support such projects.
In confirming the decision, a spokesperson for Ashfield District Council said: “Following the award of Hucknall Levelling Up funding we have identified an opportunity to develop a National Lottery Heritage (NLHF) bid for St. Mary Magdelene Church in Hucknall, the burial place of Lord Byron and Ada Lovelace and a Grade II* listed building.
“If a bid was accepted by NLHF it could be used as match funding for the Levelling Up Fund.
“This presents a great opportunity to attract substantial investment and to safeguard the future of a significant historic building and local landmark.”
Man encouraged followers to burn hotel
A 45-year-old man from Mansfield has been sentenced to 20 months in prison for encouraging his Facebook followers to burn down a hotel housing refugees.
John England made the incendiary comments on August 7, following nationwide riots that erupted after the tragic killing of three girls in Southport, Merseyside.
England posted an image showing people setting fire to a hotel accommodating refugees and praised those involved, stating he was “so proud of these great English men.”
He further suggested that a similar attack should happen at a hotel in Mansfield. His Facebook account also included offensive posts about various sensitive issues, such as the Grenfell Tower disaster, Islam, and the murder of George Floyd, a black man killed by a US police officer in 2020.
In another disturbing post during the recent unrest, England implied he would use a machine gun to shoot a group of Asian men.
A concerned member of the public reported his comments to Nottinghamshire Police after seeing the post encouraging arson.
England later turned himself in at Mansfield Police Station on Sunday morning.
During a police interview, he described himself as “an idiot online” and claimed to have a “dark sense of humor”.
He stated that he didn’t believe anyone would actually act on his post.
Appearing at Nottingham Crown Court, England, of Big Barn Lane, Mansfield, pleaded guilty to using threatening, abusive, or insulting words with the intent to stir up racial hatred. He was sentenced to 20 months behind bars.
Detective Chief Inspector Nick Hall, of Nottinghamshire Police, said England’s remarks were neither a misguided joke nor a one-off incident but part of a broader pattern of inflammatory and hateful posts.
He praised the swift response of the courts and warned others about the serious consequences of their actions online, particularly when they incite violence or hatred.
Poppies created for fire station display
A Nottinghamshire knitting group has made and delivered 141 poppies to Ashfield Fire Station.
Knit and Natter meets at the ATTFE community hub at Idlewells shopping centre.
The poppies that have been donated will be used in the fire station’s November display, which will be outside the station.
A spokesperson said: “We would like to thank everyone that has helped with this project, without the fantastic community support we have received this would not have been possible.”
Police deployed stinger in M1 operation
Police stopped a van carrying suspected stolen alcohol on the M1 near Ashfield using a stinger.
Officers spotted the vehicle travelling northbound at about 2.20am on Friday, August 9.
The vehicle stopped a short time later and two suspects fled close to junction 27, heading in different directions.
Police Dog Night was led across the carriageway by her handler and quickly located a suspect hiding in undergrowth.
The van, which is believed to have been stolen, was found to contain a large amount of whisky and other bottles of alcohol.
A 31-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of theft of a motor vehicle and theft from a motor vehicle.
He was later released on police bail as investigations continue.
PC Rachel Boulter, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “This vehicle was brought to a safe and controlled stop and a large amount of suspected stolen alcohol was recovered from inside.
“We are continually monitoring our motorway network and are always ready to target vehicles we believe are involved in criminality.
“Our police dogs are also never far away and can also be on the scene very quickly in order to search for and detain suspects.”
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