Family issues warning after 14-year-old son is hospitalised by coronavirus

A family from Nottingham is warning others to take coronavirus seriously after their teenage son contracted the disease and was placed in intensive care.

14-year-old Oliver Hayes was placed on a ventilator for a week in December after coronavirus ripped through his household.

Oliver's dad, Javid Khan, was the first family member to contract Covid-19 at the start of December, before the rest of the family were hit by it.

Whilst his parents and siblings recovered without needing additional assistance, Oliver’s condition worsened. 

Oliver complained of not being able to breathe easily which led to his parents calling 111. An ambulance was sent to their home and he was taken to A&E at the Queen’s Medical Centre. 

Soon after arriving at the hospital, Oliver was moved to intensive care and put on a ventilator.

Oliver's mother, Dawn Hayes, spent a total of 12 days in hospital by her son's side.

She says seeing him on a ventilator was "heartbreaking", while dad Javid remained at home feeling "hopeless".

Oliver spent a week in intensive care before being placed on a ward to recover.

Dawn says nurses at the QMC said Oliver was the youngest coronavirus patient they had seen on a ventilator. 

She says it made it additionally "scary" to think that Oliver's medicine doses and the length of time he would spend on the ventilator would have to be based on information staff had collected from adults they'd treated.

Dawn says staff at the hospital suspected that the family might have caught a stronger strain of coronavirus, which is why Oliver's body reacted the way it did.

The family, who say they were supported brilliantly by the staff at QMC and are extremely grateful for their care, say they never thought this would happen to them.

They say they followed the rules, had good hand hygiene, wore masks and only made essential journeys - But despite being safe they still "picked up the virus".

Now they have a warning for those who're not taking the guidelines seriously.,

Oliver was finally discharged from hospital on Christmas Day to spend it with his parents and siblings.

He still has some routine appointments to monitor his progress but his parents are hopeful that he's on the way to a full recovery.

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