Man, 30, who battled cancer for two years dies of coronavirus after asking doctors to 'save someone else' instead
A DJ with leukemia and coronavirus died after asking the doctors to stop treating him to “save someone else’s life”. The DJ requested his doctors not to give him any of the medication, his family revealed.
Liam Downing had just turned 30 around five days before his death. In the days leading up to his death, Liam had learned that he had contracted coronavirus after being admitted to the hospital with a suspected infection, Metro reports.
At the time, the doctors had told him that there was not much that they could to cure his cancer which he had been trying to fight for two years. On March 21, Liam made the decision that he did not want to burden the country's NHS anymore, his family shared.
His sister Laura shared on a GoFundMe page set up to help pay for his burial expenses, "Liam had [spoken] with the specialist about what his options were. By the end of the conversation, Liam had made the brave decision not to have any more medication and to just be made as comfortable and given end of life care instead."
"This came as a massive shock to all of our family and friends but that was Liam’s wish. He had fought the battle for as long as he could with leukemia and did not want to waste any more of the NHS money and selflessly said, 'save someone else’s life with it'," she added.
Laura also paid tribute to her brave brother on her Facebook page and wrote, "Expecting Liam to have at least a few months he started making a bucket list of things he wanted to do before he died. To then be told he had coronavirus was just devastating. He was never going to do what he wanted to."
"We were uncertain whether he was going to see his 30th birthday [and] I’m so thankful he did. I’m so unbelievably proud of you Liam! You fought so long and hard but now’s your time to relax! You’re now out of pain!" she continued.
"On Friday 27 March Liam gave up his battle with Leukaemia and COVID-19 closing his eyes and leaving this earth peacefully. Liam was a kind cuddly teddy bear that helped out anyone he could. He lit up any room he walked into. He loved to be the center of attention!! He was the best brother and uncle I could of ever wished for! We will always love you, Liam!" she added.
For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. But for others, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, the virus can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death.
Currently, in the UK, there have been more than 25,400 confirmed cases of coronavirus while at least 1,789 people have died. Globally there are currently around 860,181 confirmed cases of coronavirus with the number constantly increasing.
So far, there have been around 42,345 deaths across the world due to coronavirus.