Parents of a one-year-old boy have spoken out after their son was repeatedly misdiagnosed with a 'nursery virus' before ending up in intensive care with pneumonia and a collapsed lung. Charlie King and Abbie Rogers, both 31 from Thamesmead, southeast London, noticed their son Lennie suffering from regular colds and chest infections from the age of six months.
They initially attributed the illnesses to viruses picked up at nursery, and their GP repeatedly reassured them the symptoms were viral and nothing to worry about. However, after six months of persistent symptoms, including 'rattly breath' and trouble breathing at night, the parents took Lennie out of nursery, but his condition did not improve.
In November 2022, after numerous GP visits, the parents took Lennie to Queen Elizabeth Hospital where he was diagnosed with a collapsed lung and pneumonia. He was sedated and placed on a ventilator before being transferred to Evelina London Children's Hospital. There, doctors also found empyema – fluid on his lung – and he underwent two life-saving surgeries.
After the operations, Lennie made a swift recovery and was discharged. He required regular check-ups for a year but has since been signed off with normal lung function and little risk of future issues. Now aged four, Lennie is described by his father as having a 'massive personality' and being a great brother to his younger sibling Louie, born in August 2024.
Charlie King is training for the London Marathon on April 26 to raise funds for Evelina London Children's Hospital, the hospital that saved his son's life. He said: 'You can never prepare for that news. You hear the stories, but you never expect it to happen to your own family.'
