The heartstopping moment a mom and dad rushed to their baby’s aid after she removed the tube that helps her breathe has been caught on camera.
Dannii Sterling and Gary Burgess from Ashford, Kent, in the U.K., demonstrated an incredible level of care and composure as they tended to their daughter Billie.
“Billie had decannulated herself, which means she pulled her tracheostomy tube out,” Sterling told Newsweek. “We don’t actually know how long she would be okay without it, so it’s a case of getting a new one ASAP.”
Tracheostomy tubes are used to create an opening in the windpipe to assist with breathing. Writing alongside a video chronicling the drama, which was posted to Instagram under the handle billiesbreathingbattle, Sterling said her daughter has become “extremely inquisitive” about the tube, leading to “frightening” moments like these.
“She doesn’t understand that she shouldn’t disconnect her vent ALL. DAY. LONG. Or that she shouldn’t pull on her tracheostomy with both hands and yank it out of her neck,” she said.
Instagram/BilliesBreathingBattle
Sterling knows there is every chance this will happen again, and it will take time for Billie to understand the importance of the tube. But after everything they have been through together as a family, to have their daughter happy and at home makes it all worthwhile.
Billie was born on November 12, 2023, at 27 days, 4 weeks gestation via emergency caesarean in challenging circumstances for both mother and child. “I was unfortunately suffering from severe preeclampsia and was extremely unwell; this was the only option to save both mine and Billie’s lives,” Sterling said.
Sterling would have to wait to properly meet her daughter. Weighing just 1lb 11oz, Billie was taken to a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) immediately after she was born.
“Billie’s lungs were so underdeveloped that she has severe chronic lung disease, which has caused an accumulation of issues and complications for Billie,” Sterling said. “There have been numerous occasions where we have very nearly lost her, and she is extremely lucky to still be alive.”
When Billie was just a month old, she was transferred by emergency ambulance to a London hospital to undergo lifesaving bowel surgery. “I was warned Billie may not make it to London alive,” Sterling said.
But Billie did make it to London and through the surgery she so desperately needed. In her short life, Billie has undergone nine different surgeries and procedures.
These include a procedure for a stoma opening and reversal on her bowel for necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), heart surgery for patent ductus arteriosus (PDA), bronchoscopies and tracheostomy procedures on her airway.
She’s also had a Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) feed fitted to her abdomen as well as central and peripheral lines to allow intravenous access when administering medications.
The first six months of Billie’s life were spent intubated and sedated. Due to her premature birth, brain scans showed Billie is also at risk of suffering from Cerebral Palsy as she develops.
Billie lives with chronic lung disease and severe bronchomalacia, meaning her airway is not fully formed and is “floppy” rather than stiff. “Billie has frequently stopped breathing as her airway collapses and her heart rate drops so low that she requires CPR,” Sterling said. “Billie had the majority of her life not being able to go 7 days without having an infection, including pneumonia and sepsis.”
Despite the challenges faced in the early part of her life, Billie has found a way to blossom into the happiest little girl. Best of all, after 456 days in hospital, in February 2025, Billie finally came home. “She is growing and becoming stronger day by day, and myself and Gary can finally enjoy her little personality and character,” Sterling said. “She’s a good girl really but is always being mischievous. She loves being with her family and just generally watching everyone be silly.”
Instagram/BilliesBreathingBattle
Though Sterling acknowledges leaving the house with Billie can be a challenge, with all of the things they need to maintain her care, making it feel like they are “packing for a mini holiday,” they have been out on trips together. Billie is usually just happy at home, though, enjoying her favorite show, Miss Rachel.
“We have to be super careful with her and germs, which can be stressful sometimes but we do as much as possible with her to try and make life as normal as possible,” Sterling said.
Being prepared for moments like the one captured on the video is an example of the new normal they face as a family. Sterling and Burgess are more than up to the challenge, though. “We had lots of training before the hospital allowed us to be discharged,” she said. “They teach you all about emergency situations and how to react, but I think you look calm on the outside but are freaking out on the inside.”
With time, they hope Billie begins to understand why she shouldn’t touch the tube. Until then, both mom and dad know they will have to have “eyes in the back of [their] heads.”
A brighter future is on the horizon, one where Billie starts school and no longer needs the tracheostomy. That begins with ventilator breaks, with a view to building up to the point where she is off the machine all day.
Sterling knows they are on a “journey” with their daughter, but if the video she shared online shows anything, it’s that Billie is in the best possible hands.