They’re far from alone in calling everyone to stay home, but the story of British parents Emma and Wayne Bates is heartbreaking.

 

Their six-month-old daughter Erin is hospitalized with all kinds of equipment with the coronavirus. “Please take it seriously.”

Erin was born six months ago with a heart condition. She weighed just 2.4 pounds and struggled with her windpipe from the start.

After open-heart surgery and months of treatments, it finally seemed to be going in the right direction with the “child prodigy,” as her parents affectionately call her until she was diagnosed with COVID-19 last Friday.

On Facebook, they shared a photo of the baby, attached to hoses, wires and equipment. Erin receives oxygen at the Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool through a so-called continuous positive airway pressure machine.

Her mother, Emma, can stay with her as long as she doesn’t develop any complaints. “Then, I would be transferred to another hospital.”

Since only one person is allowed, her father Wayne is in home isolation in Manchester. The family keeps in touch with each other via video calling.