A 10-year-old boy who spent 11 days fighting a severe Covid-19 infection in an intensive care ward in Spain has been given the all clear, prompting an outpouring of affection from the staff who treated him.
Medical personnel at the Mancha Centro hospital in Ciudad Real cheered when Mateo Roman was allowed to go home.
"Many thanks to all those who have given me strength. I love you all very much," he said in a video clip provided by the hospital.
Jesus Ledesma, one of the nurses assisting Mateo at the intensive care unit said the team had moments they felt down, but they worked together for the boy.
A 10-year-old boy who spent 11 days fighting a severe Covid-19 infection in an intensive care ward in Spain has been given the all clear, prompting an outpouring of affection from the staff who treated him | Read more: https://t.co/ogw0Zgj6rD pic.twitter.com/ksX4GPl4Zh
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"It was a challenge for the team, aside from the very emotional fact that he is just a child," the nurse said.
One of just three children under 14 to have been admitted to the hospital's intensive care unit since March, Mateo's case became well known in Spain after a nurse published a photo of the two of them on social media.
The medical team presented Mateo with a basketball, a car-themed colouring book and a powder-blue superman cape before he departed the hospital.
Mateo's father Javier thanked the doctors and nurses for going above and beyond their professional duty in caring for him.
"They treated him with a lot of affection, and gave us strength and hope when we needed it." he said.
