A poorly baby whose picture lying in a hospital bed battling coronavirus shocked the nation has beaten the odds to make a full recovery.
Less than a fortnight ago, six-month-old Erin Bates was in a high dependency unit hooked up to an oxygen machine surrounded by tubes and equipment.
The diagnosis of Covid-19 came after she was already overcoming problems with her heart and windpipe, which had required major surgery.
Yesterday, doctors at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, in Liverpool, told her overjoyed family she has pulled through.
Six month-old Erin Bates linked up to a CPAP machine in Liverpool’s Alder Hey Children’s Hospital as she fought coronavirus
Erin’s father Wayne said: ‘Erin has beaten the virus. It hit her hard with a few ups and downs but we wanted people to know coronavirus doesn’t have to be a death sentence for people with pre-existing conditions.
‘She is all smiles and talking to herself.’
Mr Bates, 32, said Erin, who was born weighing just 5lbs 4oz, will remain a long-term patient due to her other medical issues but he and his wife Emma, 29, are ‘hugely relieved’.
Due to coronavirus rules, only one parent has been there with her in hospital, which has been his wife.
Yesterday, however, Mr Bates was able to visit the hospital for the first time since the coronavirus diagnosis.
He and his wife, from Bury, Greater Manchester, have now set up a Facebook group, Erin’s journey, for people to read about their daughter’s journey through her ongoing medical treatment.
Erin’s case made headlines around the world after her diagnosis on Good Friday.
Her parents released the heart-breaking picture of her lying in hospital as a stark reminder to people of the need to avoid the spread of the virus by social distancing.
Speaking at the time, Mr Bates, a mechanic for Toyota, said: ‘People are still not taking this outbreak seriously and that upsets me. I take it personally.’
Erin Bates at a later stage in her recovery at Liverpool’s Alder Hey Children’s Hospital
Mr and Mrs Bates received an outpouring of support on social media after the photo was released with friends describing their daughter as a ‘brave little fighter’.
One friend, Caroline Brennan, commented under the photograph of Erin after she contracted covid-19, saying: ‘The NHS should use this photo of your brave daughter to show the public why they should stay indoors and the anxiety it is causing to her parents.’
Despite Erin’s diagnosis, Mr and Mrs Bates believed that because their daughter – conceived naturally after a decade of trying during which they were told they might not be able to have children – had already fought ‘against the odds’ so many times, she could overcome her latest setback.
They have also been full of praise for the efforts of NHS doctors and nurses.
Erin’s first six months have been traumatic due to the discovery of a series of medical conditions, one of which required open heart surgery in December.
In January, she also suffered respiratory syncytial virus, which causes bronchiolitis and pneumonia in babies and can be fatal.
Further conditions affected her airways, tracheomalacia and bronchomalacia. These disorders affect the windpipe and its branches into the lungs, and already required use of the oxygen machine.
Doctors at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, above have told Erin’s overjoyed family she has pulled through her coronavirus scare
Erin was applauded by nurses as her cot was wheeled out of Alder Hey’s high dependency unit yesterday FRI.
Mr Bates said he was able to visit his wife but still cannot see Erin because it is hospital policy for only one family member to be able to visit a patient while the coronavirus outbreak continues.
But he said: ‘It’s hard but I understand the situation, particularly after what we’ve been through, as it’s to lessen the risk of infection to other patients.’
Mr Bates said he and his wife have received a huge amount of support from the public.
He said they now hope Erin, who still needs to use an oxygen machine but only at a low concentration level, will continue to improve in hospital and could be allowed home before her birthday in October.