“I ASKED if my baby and I would survive. Expecting a definite ‘Yes’, the doctor said seriously, ‘We’ll do our best’.”

Those were the harrowing words of folk star Issy Ferris – one half of Frome duo Ferris & Sylvester alongside now-husband Archie Sylvester – who has spoken of her experience of life-threatening pregnancy complications which led to the premature birth of their first son, Lucky.

The award-winning folk/blue duo, known for standout tracks including Flying Visit and Better In Yellow, were enjoying the upward trajectory of their career – and their lives – in September 2022.

Fresh from an appearance on the Avalon Stage and at Strummerville at Glastonbury – where they announced they were expecting – they had travelled to the US for shows when things went wrong.

“I was 32-weeks pregnant, eight weeks until my due date, when we flew to Nashville in September 2022,” Issy said. “We’d been touring our debut album all summer, we announced my pregnancy on The Avalon Stage at Glastonbury. I had a happy and healthy dream of a pregnancy.

“We flew to Nashville for a four-day trip to play our last shows of the summer.

“On day three of the trip, Archie and I went to the emergency room after a night of heavy vomiting. I was quickly diagnosed with severe pre-eclampsia and was told to prepare for our baby to be born, very soon and on American soil.”

As the shock of the situation set in, Issy asked for reassurance about her condition – and that of her baby.

“I asked if my baby and I would survive,” she said. “Expecting a definite ‘Yes’, the doctor said seriously, ‘We’ll do our best’.

“My body had gone into organ failure. Archie made the calls to our family. Shows were cancelled. Life had changed.”

Ferris & Sylvester performing at Strummerville at Glastonbury 2022. Picture: Paul Jones/Somerset Leveller

Issy was stabilised with a magnesium drip and transferred to Ascension Saint Thomas Midtown, in Nashville, where “they have an amazing Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)”, she said.

“We waited to see if my condition would improve. After a couple of days, it was clear my situation wasn’t stabilising. We were told our baby would be delivered the following morning.”

Lucky Ferris Sylvester was born on September 19, weighing just over 4lbs. He spent 19 days in the NICU, learning to breathe and feed on his own.

“He was the most tiny and perfect little baby,” Issy said. “We were apart after the birth. I missed the first day of his life.

“Recovery was hard, I had little strength in those first few days. But whenever I could, Archie would wheel me down to the NICU to see Lucky.

“You’d think an intensive care unit would have been a very hard place to be. But for us, it was where we had some of the best moments of our lives, thanks to the unimaginable kindness from the nurses and doctors.

“It’s where we got to know our son.”

The ordeal brought the pair closer together, and they were married 10 days after Lucky was born.

“The hospital chaplain, Chelsea, performed the service in Centennial Park,” Issy went on. “We had our families there and we visited Lucky in the NICU in our glad-rags.

“Our wedding breakfast was fried chicken. It was the most perfect day.

Archie and Issy with baby Lucky on their wedding day. Picture: Ferris & Sylvester

“When Lucky and I came out of hospital, we spent another four weeks out in Nashville, living in a studio above a garage just off 12th South.

“We flew home with Lucky weighing 6lbs on an emergency passport. Our four-day trip ended up being two months.

“We had our baby, and we were home. Life could resume.”

However, the new family had to endure another trauma on their return – a $200,000 bill for their care in the US, which their insurance company initially refused to pay, before u-turning on the decision.

But now, more than three years later, the pair – who have since welcomed daughter, Dusty – have spoken of their experience in the way they know best, through song.

Songs That Saw Us Through is a five-track EP of covers, featuring tunes the pair listened to during their experience.

The pair are an award-winning songwriting and performing duo

And they are working to raise awareness of pregnancy research charity, Tommy’s, which supports to help families “bring their babies home”.

Issy added: “Over three years on, I sit here in full health, with Lucky and his baby sister, Dusty.

“We have toured, released an album and recorded another. It worked out for us and we are so grateful. Trauma of any kind is complex, however. It quietly grows its roots until suddenly, you can hardly move, even years after the danger has passed. We navigate this everyday.

“For this reason, we are especially proud to be working with Tommy’s to provide much-needed support for families who are going through something similar, along with the groundbreaking research that they carry out.

“We hope the new music can help and comfort you, whatever journey you are on.

“Music can save people. We are sending you love and strength.”

For more about Tommy’s, log on to tommys.org, and to donate to the Ferris & Sylvester appeal, visit justgiving.com/page/ferris-and-sylvester-1.

READ MORE: Health & Wellbeing news from your Somerset Leveller