Tragedy knocked on the door of the Leatherbarrow family in a sudden and unexpected way. As the Manchester Evening News reports, a young man aged just 28 died hours after telling his family he had a headache and a runny nose. Rhys Leatherbarrow, a blind autistic youngster very close to his big sister Kami, started feeling unwell at the end of December 2022. “He came home and complained of a headache and a nose that He was given paracetamol and told he could stay at home which he was happy with.” Only the condition of the young man deteriorated rapidly.
As Kami Leatherborrow explains, “The next day, after I made him some food, I saw his bedroom door was open. see, he collapsed on top of me, I had to drag him to his bed to get him into a secure position.” However, Kami’s efforts were not enough, as were those of the hospital staff. Indeed, the emergency services were quickly called so that Rhys could be hospitalized. Only in the two hours following arrival at the hospital, the young man made two cardiac arrests and had to be placed on an artificial respirator. According to the doctors, he suffered from pneumonia which led to the failure of all his organs and cardiac arrest.
Rhys died hours after arriving at the hospital
From his hospitalization, the condition of Ryhs Leatherbarrow worsened, and his sister as well as his parents, Janis and John Leatherbarrow, were therefore called by the hospital in order to be able to be at his bedside. “He died less than 6 hours after arriving at the hospital. It was so sudden and shocking at the same time. Rhys was a happy, loving young man. He loved being around people and making them laugh.” A kitty has been set up by Rhys’ family to help them pay all the costs incurred by the hospitalization and funeral of the latter.
Illustration image © Pexels
