The distressed parents of a baby boy who fell ill with Covid-19 over the festive period said that they were afraid their son would "go into cardiac arrest" in front of them.
Little Grayson, aged just four months, was taken to hospital with the virus on December 29 after coming into contact with asymptomatic family members.
His mum Lara and dad Macaulley, from Tonyrefail, Wales, said that they were left feeling "helpless" as their son "turned grey" after being admitted to hospital, as reported by North Wales Live.
The child tested positive for Covid after coming into contact with family members who were not displaying symptoms.
Lara and Macaulley said that their son had been sleeping a lot but had a number of symptoms that correlated to him teething, such as a high temperature and being under the weather.
During the night Grayson became more unwell and very grizzly and restless and his voice became raspy and hoarse, said Lara, with both parents up most of the night with him.
Lara said: "He had a runny nose, he was screaming and coughing which sounded like a bark."
They took Grayson to the doctors the following day where he had a temperature of 39.4C and a heart rate of 210 when it should be between 80 and 160 for babies his age. His skin was mottled and grey.
Lara said: "The doctors were afraid that with all of the above he was going to ‘crash’ and were basically waiting for his heart to stop or go into cardiac arrest.
"At this point my partner Macaulley and I were in bits knowing there was nothing we could possibly do to help."
After being warned of a wait of around eight hours for an ambulance the couple decided to rush Grayson to hospital themselves, where the doctors took his blood and fitted a cannula to pump fluids and strong antibiotics into the four-month-old.
Lara said that during their first day in hospital, due to not sleeping, Grayson seemed exhausted and had no energy to cry, and didn't even flinch when the nurse inserted the cannula.
Lara described the whole event as "stressful" and said she just felt "helpless" that Grayson was so unwell.
She added it was surprising to the couple that Grayson became so ill, as they were under the impression that it would only mildly affect children.
After a positive Covid result came back Grayson was closely monitored and by the evening had stabilised.
Lara said: "Luckily Grayson is a strong boy and with the right help has recovered well, even though if we hadn’t trusted our instincts when we had I’m not sure what the outcome could have been but I dread to even think about it."
Lara is now imploring parents to be more aware, adding that if their child does become unwell to get them checked as soon as possible for Covid.
Describing their time in hospital, Lara said: "Eight children under three tested positive and were very ill during the two days we spent in the hospital and now myself and Macaulley have both tested positive for Covid since coming home from hospital."
She hopes by sharing their experience it will raise awareness and help parents to act quickly before their little ones become unwell. Luckily Grayson is now at home with mum and dad and is doing much better.
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