Ben Hanlin opens up about his baby girl battling sepsis

Dancing On Ice star Ben Hanlin has told how he lived through his worst nightmare when his baby girl became ill with sepsis.

The star’s seven-month-old daughter Delilah fell ill two weeks ago.

Appearing on Loose Women, Hanlin told how he got a phone call from his wife Briony to say his daughter was unwell and that he arrived home to find an ambulance on his drive.

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“Your worst nightmare?” said presenter Andrea McLean.

“Yep,” said the star.

“They came in and took one look at her – looked at her mottled skin. I said 'Delilah's seven months' - she was 103 degrees.

"We had taken all her clothes off. She was struggling to breathe, her hands and feet were going blue."

He continued: "The paramedics said, ‘Right, we've got to go', they didn't mess about.

“Briony got in the ambulance, I followed behind and they took her to Birmingham Heartlands Hospital, who were amazing."

The magician said he was not all that familiar with the condition before his baby fell ill.

Asked if he knew how deadly sepsis could be, he said: "I knew zero. It was not on my radar."

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Hanlin said his family were among the “lucky” ones because they got there fast and Delilah reacted quickly to treatment.

“Within two hours they got her stable,” he said, adding that she is now doing well.

The star also urged other parents not to wait and to call the emergency services if their child becomes ill.

According to the NHS, when people suffer from sepsis, “the body’s immune system goes into overdrive, setting off a series of reactions including widespread inflammation, swelling and blood clotting”.

“This can lead to a significant decrease in blood pressure, which can in turn reduce the blood supply to vital organs, starving them of oxygen. If not treated quickly, sepsis can lead to multiple organ failure and death.”