A TEN week old baby from Mount Russell near Inverell is back in intensive care at Sydney Children's Hospital after leaving only a few days ago.
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Daman McDougall spent more than seven weeks at the hospital after he was diagnosed with whooping cough and suffered other
complications.
Daman and his parents were allowed to transfer to Armidale Base Hospital on Friday night to be closer to home.
Daman's health had again started to slip by early Monday morning, and he and his mother Cara were airlifted back to Sydney.
Daman was born on November 1 and by November 18 he was in the children's hospital being treated for whooping cough, a contagious respiratory sickness.
His father Robert said Daman then developed pneumonia, collapsed lungs and excess fluid on the brain.
At one stage the little boy had to be revived but Robert said his son was tough and pulled through.
Robert said the family was allowed to transfer to Armidale on Friday evening but Daman "went downhill a little bit" and was sent back to intensive care in Sydney.
However, yesterday afternoon Daman was in a better condition and was breathing on his own.
Robert said he and Cara were keeping a positive outlook, but the past couple of months had been
"overwhelming".
Robert and Cara have three other children – six-year- old Lachlan, five-year-old Ryan and two-year-old Emma.
They also have a grain transport business that has prevented Robert from being in Sydney this time around with his wife and new son.
However, Robert said friends and colleagues had been extremely supportive, even mowing the lawn and cleaning the house in their absence.
Another happy moment among all the misfortune came with the wedding of Robert's sister Michelle in Inverell on Saturday.
"Dad was going to give her away but he passed away last August from a massive heart attack," Robert said.
"Then I was supposed to give her away, but we were in Sydney.
"Michelle was really good and said, 'Don't you come home, stay with Daman'.
"Mum was going to give her away but as it turned out we ended up in Armidale so I went over to Inverell for the wedding."