Local boy fights rare disease, COVID-19 simultaneously in Ohio hospital

(WFXR) – One local family is grateful for support they’ve received after a difficult several weeks.

Seventeen-year-old Hayden Grosvenor already has had a difficult last few years.

Hayden has what’s known as Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis, where excess immune system cells build up in the body.

This has meant Hayden has had to go through chemotherapy and has made dozens of trips to the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital.

Three weeks ago, Hayden received a new liver but the story doesn’t end there.

Eight days after that surgery, Hayden and his mom both caught COVID-19.

“We just take one day at a time,” says Hayden’s mom Laura.

Even after receiving a new liver and fighting COVID-19 at the same time he’s recovering from surgery, Hayden continues to fight even as doctors are scratching their heads wondering where he got coronavirus.

“They really don’t know how that happened, but the challenge for the doctors here is which part is liver issues and which part is COVID issues,” says Laura.

Doctors have done a biopsy and are watching the numbers closely, all while Hayden just wants to get back to being himself.

As for the liver, the family has known for 10 years now that Hayden would need a new one. The one Hayden got was from a boy a few years younger than him which ended up being a perfect match, but the family can’t help thinking of the boy who died and the family who has given Hayden so much.

A Go Fund Me account has been set up for the family – not for medical expenses, but for room and board. A link to that site can be found by clicking here.

Understandably, the Ronald McDonald House will not allow anyone who has been COVID-19-positive into their facility, which means Hayden’s mom and dad are living in a hotel and that is getting very expensive.

The family is looking for something long-term, and cheaper but they expect to be in Cincinnati until February.

For updates on Hayden’s progress, click here.

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