A YOUNG couple have been left in anguish after their smiley and healthy first baby died from no apparent cause.

Chris and Katelyn Okun, from Calne, took a photo of baby Franklin looking the picture of health, the day before he was found unresponsive after a morning nap. He was flown to hospital but died three days later.

Mr Okun said: “Having Franklin showed us we were born to be parents. We are totally devastated at losing him.

“The post mortem examination did not show any reason for his death. We are now waiting for other tests but they could take months.”

May 31 started as an ordinary day for the family. They dropped Franklin at his grandparent’s house in Chippenham while they drove to get a part for their car.

But just a short while later Mr Okun, 29, and his wife, 23, received a terrible phone call to say the three-month-old baby had stopped breathing.

Warehouse worker Mr Okun said: “On the 31st of May our lives turned upside down. We had the worst call possible.

“We got told our beautiful three month old baby boy had stopped breathing. The Wiltshire Air Ambulance arrived and after 45 minutes they managed to get a heartbeat.

“Franklin was then take to the PICU ward at the Bristol Royal Infirmary where they did their best for three days.

“Unfortunately Franklin was starved of oxygen for too long and we had to make the most awful decision by turning his life support machines off.

“If it wasn't for the Wiltshire Air Ambulance and the amazing staff at the BRI we wouldn't have had the chance to say goodbye.”

Now Mr Okun is to stage a 42-mile cycle ride on July 17 to raise money for the air ambulance and the hospital.

He said: “I will ride from our house in Calne to the Wiltshire Air Ambulance base in Semington and then from there to the hospital in Bath.

“I want to raise as much money as I possibly can for both causes as they both helped as so much.

“I am going to cycle in order to help these wonderful people get some credit they deserve. They are true superheroes.”

Mr Okun said the whole family had been left grief stricken by the death of Franklin, who was a smiley happy baby.

He said: “We can’t believe he is no longer with us. It is very difficult to come to terms with his death.

“But we do hope to go on to have another child in the future. He showed us that we were meant to be parents. It was terrible for his grandparents who found him not breathing, then having to ring us.

“The paramedics got to him very quickly and everyone at the hospital was wonderful but they could not save him.”

So far £1,175 has been raised towards the £2,000 target. Go to www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/christian-okun