Traitors winner Leanne Quigley has admitted she is haunted by the moment she watched her baby son almost die.
Leanne, 30, has twin boys with her fiancée Sophie but their start in life was filled with grave dangers.
The former soldier, who won last year’s series of The Traitors alongside Jake Brown, gave birth to their sons prematurely.
She has now opened up about the terrifying moment one of her babies, Harley, almost died in front of her as doctors battled to save him.
Leanne spoke about Hudson and Harley’s start to life on the Happy Mum, Happy Baby podcast, hosted by Giovanna Fletcher.
She explained how the boys arrived at 26 weeks, still in their sac and with their eyes still fused shut.
Leanne said: “They looked like tiny, tiny babies that had not formed properly yet. Their eyes were fused shut. They just obviously weren’t ready to be born.
“Their skin was just past transparent. It was bright red and really sore. If it was a week earlier, their skin would have been almost see-through.”
Doctors whisked Hudson and Harley into the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit).
But in an unfortunate turn of events, a chest infection struck Sophie, forcing her to stay away for a week.”
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Traitors’ Leanne Quigley recalls her son almost dying
Leanne had to face being in hospital alone with their very sick sons and ending up encountering something no parent should ever witness.
She recalls: “It was horrible. The boys had a rough week. They were intubated and tiny. Bleeds on the brain, holes in the heart, chronic lung disease. You name it, they had it.
Leanne nipped out to grab something to eat one evening when Harley’s oxygen levels plummeted. She was immediately called back.
“Harley, who was the poorliest at the time, he was having a really difficult night. He was near death, it was horrendous,” Leanne remembers.
“They put a monitor on him to go off when he stopped breathing and it was going off every minute.
“I was just beside myself. I was on my own. Hours went by and they decided to intubate him again.”
Leanne was terrified when medics suggested bringing Sophie in, saying: “I thought [beep], he’s not going to make it.”
She added: “I stood and watched them trying to intubate him. They couldn’t get it down, they couldn’t get it in. I still see it now, them trying to force it in to this tiny little body.
“They did make me leave at that point. But you don’t want to leave your baby. We thought we were going to lose him. Thank god we didn’t.”
‘Trauma is one of the most powerful things’
Against the odds, Hudson and Harley pulled through and are now thriving little boys.
The future couldn’t be looking brighter. Leanne recently confirmed Sophie is now cancer free after being diagnosed with breast cancer.
But she still carries the trauma of those early days in Hudson and Harley’s lives.
Leanne told Giovanna that what she witnessed in the hospital that night will never leave her.
In November, Leanne marked Prematurity Awareness Month with an honest and heartfelt message.
She wrote on Instagram: “I still always think about the fear, the NICU lights, the constant beeping, sleepless nights… but also the strength I never expected to find not only in myself but in my family and my two tiny little boys.
“I feel selfish for still even getting upset about it because I think I should be grateful that they made it, but trauma is one of the most powerful things in the world!
“To every preemie family walking that journey right now… I see you. I’ve been there. And this month, we honor all of our tiny warriors and the incredible strength they bring into the world.”
Leanne added: “Here’s to my boys Hudson and Harley, and to all the babies who arrived early but shown us what true resilience looks like every single day.”
Read more: Traitors winner Leanne Quigley reveals heartbreaking reason she hasn’t married fiancée