An Aberdeen schoolboy who fell critically ill with coronavirus is making “amazing” progress, his family have said.
The Evening Express reported this week how Lewis Greig, 13, was in intensive care after testing positive for the disease – despite not showing the usual symptoms.
But now the Torry youngster’s mum Karen Simpson has revealed he has woken up. And although he is still heavily sedated, his condition is improving all the time.
The Lochside Academy pupil has been taken off a ventilator, and his condition has now been downgraded to stable.
Karen said: “The situation has changed really quickly. He’s now in a stable condition and although he’s not back to the Lewis he was before all this, he is making good progress.
“He’s still very sleepy and on a lot of medication, but he is doing really well.
“We are really proud of him because the progress he has made so far has been unbelievable.
“The teams in Aberdeen and Glasgow have been really good with him and we are really grateful to them.”
Karen, who is staying in a hotel with her partner Wayne to be close to their son, contacted the Evening Express in a bid to warn other parents after Lewis took ill with unusual symptoms last week.
He suffered a high temperature, fatigue and sickness, and also had a rash.
The teenager picked up the virus despite observing social distancing regulations.
His parents had to battle to get him admitted to hospital – and Karen wants other parents to be aware of the tell-tale signs their children may be unwell.
She said: “We are talking about a boy who stayed away from people as much as possible throughout the lockdown. He stayed in the house as much as possible.
“He knew how important it was but unfortunately this shows it can happen to anyone, even if they are observing social distancing.
“It’s okay to have questions over what you’re being told and to push harder for answers.
“We want to make other people aware of what has happened so no other family goes through what we have had to go through.”
Lewis will celebrate his 14th birthday on Friday – and well-wishers are being urged to send messages of support on the Evening Express story to the youngster as he continues on the road to recovery.
Karen said: “So many people have been so nice already and it means a lot to have had messages of support.
“It would be really nice for Lewis if people could wish him a happy birthday.”