The grateful family of a one-year-old coronavirus patient have thanked the NHS for saving the life of their "little fighter".
Agata and Michael Peters have praised medical staff who battled to save the life of their baby girl who is among the youngest in the country to recover from the deadly virus.
Leah was born with a congenital heart defect and her premature birth at 32 weeks and five days also meant to developed chronic lung disease, reports the Mirror.
After developing a cough, a nurse visited tiny Leah at home and after testing positive for coronavirus she was rushed to Pilgrim Hospital in Boston, Lincolnshire.
Brave Leah battled the illness and with the help of excellent hospital staff managed to pull through and her symptoms began to improve.
The one-year-old has spent a lot of her young life in and out of hospitals, either having operations on her heart or treatment for her lungs.
Agata said: “A few weeks ago we noticed that Leah had a bit of a cough, but living in a house with us and her two older sisters Natalie aged four and Emily aged five, we assumed it was a cold or another bug they had brought home and were not overly worried.
“Because of Leah’s heart condition we have a nurse come to visit her at home every week.
"The nurse took her stats and as they were a bit low and combined with the cough she called an ambulance and we were taken to the emergency department at Pilgrim Hospital where she was given oxygen and she picked up a bit.
"It was only later when we were on the ward that we heard that she had tested positive for coronavirus.
"We really were surprised. Because of Leah’s existing conditions, we had talked about coronavirus and feared if she caught it she would really struggle.
“But she is a little fighter and has surprised us all. She was sent home the day after we received the test results and is doing really well at the moment.”
Agata and Michael say they cannot thank the NHS enough for all of the care and support Leah has received during her life and hope that the pandemic does not delay plans for her next heart operation which is due to take place in the summer.
Agata added: “All of the NHS staff have been amazing. Even through all of the protective personal equipment (PPE) they have to wear, they have been so sweet and caring.
"We couldn’t have asked for any more from the team at Boston. Thank you just isn’t enough, it doesn’t describe how grateful we all are.”
United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust Deputy Chief Executive, Mark Brassington, said: “Staff across the NHS and social care in Lincolnshire and across the country are going above and beyond, doing everything they can to care for patients like Leah.
"It really does lift all of our spirits to hear how well she is now doing.
"Leah is among more than 130 patients diagnosed with Coronavirus who have already been able to leave our hospitals to continue with their recoveries.
“Our message to everyone reading Leah’s story is thank you for supporting the NHS and doing your bit by staying home. It really is making a difference so please keep it up!”
