Alfie in hospital, where his mother Lauren watched helpless as he asked her, ‘Am I going to die, Mummy?’

A mother has revealed how her ‘perfectly healthy’ five-year-old son was struck down with coronavirus.

Lauren Fulbrook, 30, from Worcestershire, explained how Alfie’s symptoms included a temperature of more than 42C, hallucinations and vomiting.

The carer took to Facebook to speak out as she wanted to warn parents that despite talk of ‘invincibility’, even young children can contract Covid-19 and can suffer severe effects – despite having no underlying health conditions.

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Alfie was hospitalised with the condition and as Lauren watched him lying helpless in his hospital bed, asking, ‘Mummy, am I going to die?’, she feared for his life.



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The mother-of-two wrote on Facebook in a post that’s been shared more than 51,000 times: ‘Coronavirus is NOT a joke. Please stop brushing it under the carpet and putting not only your own lives at risk but everyone else’s just because you want to go to the pub, or to a restaurant or think you need 7 packs of 24 toilet rolls. As a Covid-19 positive household, I’ve seen the effects it has.

Alfie in hospital after being admitted with a temperature over 42C (Picture: Lauren Fulbrook)

‘I’ve had to watch my 5-year-old son go from having all the energy in the world to not moving, not eating, hardly drinking or urinating. His temperature wouldn’t go below the 40s and at its highest was 42.3 which caused vomiting.

‘I watched him hallucinating and crying from his headache, being taken to hospital by ambulance to be put in isolation pods and be swabbed for the virus and confirmed positive.’

Lauren and Alfie in hospital wearing masks (Picture: Lauren Fulbrook)

Lauren described it as the ‘worst experience of her life’ when Alfie first started to show symptoms on Monday 16 March.

Her post continued: ‘His blood sugar levels were only 3.7, his respiratory rate was 18-20 and his heart rate was 180, the sweat was pouring out of him but he was shivering, he was panting for breath and he had photophobia.’

Alfie wearing a mask after being admitted to hospital with coronavirus (Picture: Lauren Fulbrook)

Lauren ended her post with a defiant message directed to those who are ignoring government advice to stay at home during the global crisis.

She pleaded: ‘So please, just stay in for a little while. So what if you can’t do all your normal things, the sooner everybody does social distancing, the sooner it will be over.

‘I am not posting this for attention or sympathy, as I could have done that the day he got sick, I just want people to stay safe. Please think of your health and others.’

The health effects of the Covid-19 outbreak have generally been milder on children but many unknowns remain.

The mother detailed how Alfie deteriorated after he attended a swimming lesson last week.

She said: ‘He started off sounding husky last Monday and I put it down to swallowing too much chlorine from his swimming lesson that day. Then he got a bark-like cough and it worsened throughout Tuesday, then his temperature suddenly kicked in Tuesday night and it shot straight to 38.4 so I had to keep him off school.

Lauren’s Facebook post was shared over 10k times after Alfie was admitted to hospital with coronavirus (Picture: Lauren Fulbrook)

‘Alfie kept saying he was ok and felt good – which he normally does. But come Thursday his temperature had hit 42.3 and I couldn’t get it down. He wasn’t eating, hardly drinking and said he couldn’t move.’



‘So I rang 111 and they sent an ambulance out in the morning, but they said that the hospital was so busy they couldn’t take him in. They got his temperature down and said if it went back up or he got worse to ring 999.’

Describing the scary moment her little boy was rushed off in an ambulance on Thursday afternoon, Lauren continued: ‘Later that evening he was vomiting, hallucinating, crying, holding his head saying it felt like it was going to explode and his eyes were hurting, so the ambulance came out and said we had to go back in.’

Upon arriving at Worcester hospital, Lauren said they were given masks to wear and were rushed to an isolation room where Alfie was swabbed and tested for Covid-19.

She described the hospital as a ‘ghost town’ and said the medical staff were wearing protective gear and masks at all times.

As Lauren also suffered from a cough, she was allowed to stay by Alfie’s side after the paramedics and a nurse gave them a bed in the isolation unit following his positive coronavirus results.

She said: ‘They gave him medicine and they kept him stripped off and on fluids to bring his temperature down.

‘I couldn’t fault the hospital staff. They reassured me, kept me informed and asked if he wanted anything. They even brought me tea and coffee!’

After being kept overnight from Thursday until Friday evening, Lauren said the hospital allowed them to return home with strict isolation restrictions.

Lauren and Alfie before he was struck by coronavirus (Picture: Lauren Fulbrook)

She said: ‘‘The hospital advised that as long as I could give Alfie medicine – I would be able to self-isolate us all at home.


‘He’s still recovering now after a week and a day. Today is the first day he has asked for food and has been playing a little bit. He still has a cough and a slight temperature but he is getting better.’

After her post went viral, Lauren said: ‘I just wanted people to take it seriously, stop acting like it’s nothing and they won’t get affected, they might not, but they can pass it on to others.

‘I don’t have a choice but to power on, I have an 18-month-old daughter as well as Alfie and we are all ill now, just not to the extent that Alfie was.

‘It was truly one of the worst experiences of my life, hearing my son ask if he was going to die and seeing the genuine panic and upset in his eyes broke my heart.’

Lauren pleaded with those ignoring government guidelines to take the outbreak more seriously but thanked those who have helped her family after they returned home from hospital.

She said: ‘Since being home I can’t fault our family, friends and Alfie’s school for helping us out and making sure we have everything we need.’

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