By Michael Morrah
The mother of one of the youngest earthquake victims has described how she desperately tried to save her baby as the earthquake rocked her Christchurch home.
Tracey Harris was in the kitchen preparing a bottle to feed her son Jayden when the quake hit.
Eight-month-old Jayden was just starting to crawl.
"He was pretty much always happy," says Ms Harris. "He loved to smile. People would be stopping on the streets saying how beautiful he was, because he had the most amazing blue eyes."
Ms Harris told 3 News he was sleeping at home on Tuesday when the ground shook at 12:51pm.
CCTV pictures show supermarket shelves rocking violently at that moment. At Ms Harris' place, the earthquake threw a television off a chest of drawers onto Jayden.
"I managed to get it off him and I could tell something was wrong because he was really, really grey," says Ms Harris.
"I picked him up and he was really floppy. I put him on his side and I could feel a faint pulse."
She called 111 but there was no answer. So she and a friend drove for help, but got caught in the chaos.
In the confusion they came across a nurse who attempted CPR. Another motorist stopped and drove them all to Christchurch Women's Hospital.
"A nurse came through and said he's not responding, and we can tell from an initial assessment that he's got really major head injuries."
Ms Harris held her baby's body for seven hours. She's just 23 year's old, and was being assisted in motherhood by social worker Maria Harrison.
"The child had everything and more that he needed. She was an excellent mum," says Ms Harrison.
"I would have rather lost this house and everything in it that him," says Ms Harris.
This afternoon they visited him at a funeral home. The service for Jayden is on Wednesday.
3 News
source: newshub archive
