A baby, born in the car park of a care home, has been named after the location where he came into the world.
Louis Illsley was born in the car park of the Avery Collection care home in Bagshot on Wednesday 28th August, after his mum experienced intense contractions while the couple were on their way to Frimley Hospital.
Parents Jess Hannam and Joe Illsley, who already have a son, Logan, as well as Joe’s brother Alfie, whom they have special guardianship over, decided to name their newborn Louis, with the middle name ‘Avery’ to honour the care home’s role in his birth.
Jess said: “We’ve chosen to have Avery as his middle name after the care home, as they massively helped us and we thought the biggest thanks we could give was to dedicate his middle name to them.”
In a heartwarming reunion, Jess and Joe returned to the luxury care home on Wednesday 11th September to introduce their newborn to the staff and residents who helped during his unexpected arrival. They met with the entire team and residents at Bagshot Gardens Care Home, who cooed and cuddled little Louis.
Weeks earlier, when Jess was in labour, the couple were forced to pull into the care home’s car park. With no time to spare, and under the guidance of a 999 operator, Louis was delivered safely by dad Joe.
Bagshot Gardens Care Home staff provided towels, blankets, and warm water to keep mother and baby safe and comfortable until the ambulance arrived.
During their return to the care home, the couple surprised the staff and residents with a box of goodies as a gesture of gratitude. In return, the care home presented the family with a baby hamper, including a personalised baby grow embroidered with ‘Avery’.
Susan Bedford, Care Assistant at Bagshot Gardens Care Home, was one of the first to assist Joe in delivering his son. She said: “Meeting the baby was very emotional. It really makes you realise how precious life is. I’m glad to see that they’re all doing well, and that baby Louis is healthy.”
The visit to Bagshot Gardens Care Home was not just a special moment for Jess and Joe but also for the residents, who were delighted to meet the newborn and share in the joy of his arrival.
As baby Louis wrapped his hand around Betty’s finger, a resident at the care home, she said: “I am very much lost for words, but what an amazing experience.”
Bagshot Gardens Care Home, is in Bagshot, Surrey, and part of the Avery Healthcare Group, is proud to have played a part in such a significant moment for this family and continues to provide exceptional care and support to both its residents and the wider community.
It started off as a pretty normal day as Jess took the kids to the park to feed the ducks. Her contractions started later in the afternoon and as she laboured quickly with son Logan she was advised to make her way to hospital.
“Unfortunately, we left at 5pm, right as rush hour started. About five minutes into the journey my contractions changed and were one after the other with no break and so intense. My waters then broke, and Joe called the ambulance who told us to pull over asap. Joe was either going to pull into the care home or the BP garage. He clearly made the right choice!”
Joe parked up with about a minute to spare. Jess said: “I was using the car door to support myself so Joe couldn’t open the door and had to deliver the baby through the window. The 999 person was on the phone the whole time and as soon as the baby was born, she stressed how important it was to find anything to dry the baby, including telling Joe to use his T-shirt.
“Luckily Joe saw a staff member walking out and managed to flag her down. She then went and got loads of towels and other members of staff to help. They were amazing! One of the care home staff helped dry the baby and then put more blankets on him. They were also looking after Joe making sure he was ok.”
The ambulance took about 20 minutes to arrive after he was born, and the care home staff stayed with the couple the entire time. Before the ambulance arrived, they put up a privacy screen so Jess could get out the car with a little bit of dignity.
She added: “It was all the little things they did to make it a much more positive experience but more importantly they made sure my little one didn’t fall unwell whilst waiting for the ambulance.”
And she added: “He’s doing amazingly well. He lost a bit too much weight at first and went down to 5lb 13oz but he’s started gaining and is feeding so well now. He’s such a happy boy and is very alert already – constantly looking around and making facial expressions, which the kids find hilarious.”
Photos by Peter Stipanovic
