White House task force cautions of potential 100K-240K US deaths from coronavirus
Reaction and analysis from Fox News medical contributors Drs. Marc Siegel and Janette Nesheiwat.
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A popular DJ in the United Kingdom, who had been battling leukemia for two years before testing positive for coronavirus, died Friday after telling doctors to go and “save someone else’s life."
Liam Downing, 30, had just celebrated his birthday a few days earlier with family members at his hospital room. He came down with an "infection" on March 16, according to a GoFundMe page created by his sister Laura.
She said that COVID-19 started to attack his body and made his condition deteriorate at a much faster rate.
UK BOY, 13, IS COUNTRY'S YOUNGEST PATIENT TO DIE FROM CORONAVIRUS, OFFICIALS SAY
On March 19, doctors told his family there was nothing they could do to cure his cancer, so two days later he made the decision not to use any more medication -- so they could use their resources elsewhere, Metro UK reported.
"Liam had spoke 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," Laura said.
"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 the Leukemia and did not want to waste any more of the NHS [National Health Service] money and selflessly said 'save someone else's life with it.'"
She described him as a "kind cuddly teddy bear" who "lit up any room he walked into." Laura said that he asked family members to come visit or FaceTime him one last time before he passed.
CORONAVIRUS TESTS BOUND FOR UK BECOME CONTAMINATED WITH CORONAVIRUS
For his final birthday – equipped with balloons, banners and birthday cards – family members made it "as special" as they could. Laura said Liam was still cracking jokes amid his pain while holding a "big booming smile on his face."
He passed away a few days later.
"Liam gave up his battle with Leukemia and COVID-19 closing his eyes and leaving this earth peacefully," his sister wrote.
Money from Liam's GoFundMe page – which has raised over £4,630 ($5,062) so far – will help pay for his plot, headstone, and flowers, Laura said.
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As of Wednesday morning, the U.K. has seen over 25,499 COVID-19 cases and 1,793 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins.
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