4-Month-Old Falls Extremely Ill From COVID-19; Doctors Warn Of 'Cardiac Arrest'

A 4-month-old child in Wales who contracted COVID-19 in the last days of 2021 nearly went into cardiac arrest due to the gravity of his symptoms, his parents said.

The child, identified only as Grayson, became "very lethargic" and had slept in on Dec. 28 — a day after two asymptomatic family members he came in contact with tested positive for the coronavirus, WalesOnline reported.

Grayson's mom Lara and dad Macaulley initially thought their son's condition was caused by teething as the infant also had other symptoms that were part of the process, such as having a high temperature and "being under the weather," according to the outlet.

The Tonyrefail couple ended up spending most of the night with their son as he had become "more unwell and very grizzly and restless, and his voice became raspy and hoarse," according to Lara.

"He had a runny nose, he was screaming and coughing, which sounded like a bark," the mother recalled.

Grayson was taken to doctors on Dec. 29, and it was revealed that he had a temperature of 39.4 degrees Celsius, or around 103 degrees Fahrenheit. Additionally, the child had "mottled and gray" skin as well as a heart rate of 210 when it should have been between 80 and 160 for babies his age.

"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," Lara said.

Lara and Macaulley later took their child to a hospital, where doctors took some blood and fitted a cannula on Grayson to pump fluids as well as strong antibiotics into him.

The mother described the entire ordeal as"stressful" and said that she felt helpless while her son was unwell. She also said that the severity of Grayson's illness was surprising to her and Macaulley as they were under the impression that it "would only mildly affect children."

The baby was monitored after he tested positive for COVID-19, but he later stabilized.

Lara is now imploring other parents to be more aware and advising them to have their children get checked for the coronavirus if they become unwell. She hopes that sharing her experience will raise awareness and help parents act before their children get sick.

Grayson is now at home with his parents. It was unclear if the three were vaccinated.

The U.K. has reported a total of 13,918,510 COVID-19 cases and 149,761 virus-related deaths as of Wednesday, according to data provided by Johns Hopkins University.