A Gift from Sebastian

The story of the cot death of television presenter Anne Diamond's son Sebastian - a death which, it was later discovered, could have been prevented. The book tells of the subsequent cot-death campaign led by Anne Diamond and involving "The Sun" and a television advert featuring Elton John.

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Television presenter Anne Diamond's son Sebastian was born four weeks prematurely, and fought for his life for weeks in a special-care baby unit before being allowed home. He overcame those early problems, but nearly five months later his mother found him dead in his bedroom - a cot-death victim. This is the story of Sebastian's life and death, and of the grief which gripped the family. It tells of their chance discovery that, nearly two years earlier, doctors in New Zealand had found a way to prevent cot death. The British authorities knew, but had done nothing. The book follows the family's trip across the world to make a television documentary, and how Anne Diamond started a life-saving campaign in Britain. It also recounts how "The Sun" became a powerful ally, raising over #200,000 in an appeal, how Sebastian's parents used "media blackmail" to force the Health Minister to act, and how they enlisted the help of Elton John to make Britain's first cot-death advert - which cost #47,000 for 30 seconds. The story ends with the birth of a new baby son.