A DEVOTED Carlisle mum who fears her severely disabled teenager will die if he contracts coronavirus has pleaded with people to help save his life by staying at home.

Nicola Clulow’s 18-year-old son Cameron has already survived a series of huge physical challenges.

As recently as September last year, the teenager underwent a second bout of major surgery in Newcastle and had to be put on a ventilator because one of his lungs collapsed and he developed pneumonia.

But a doctor has warned Nicola her wheelchair-bound son would be unlikely to survive if he contracts Covid-19; and with the demand for ventilators likely to rocket he might not even be offered one.

Nicola’s big worry is that if Cameron has to go into hospital for one of his existing medical conditions he is likely to catch coronavirus.

In an emotional interview, Nicola, 54, said: “The problem for vulnerable people is that – no matter how hard we’re shielding them at home – if they need hospital treatment the likelihood is they’ll catch Covid-19 in there and then if they’re lucky enough to even be offered treatment, they have a very low percentage of survival.

“So the more people who isolate, the fewer the people who will get infected; and the less likely they are to spread the virus in hospital and then the more likely it is that my son will survive.

“It’s that simple.”

She continued: “If you leave the house today for anything other than because you are a key worker, to get absolutely essential shopping, or to take a short walk you could personally be condemning my son to death.

“Think on that for two minutes please. He’s 18 now and has complex and multiple learning disabilities, no speech, epilepsy and now respiratory problems.”

A department head at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust revealed on Sunday that intensive care for coronavirus patients is now being limited to those “reasonably certain” to survive.

“Initially my GP rang me to say that if Cameron was hospitalised he may not be offered a critical care bed,” Nicola continued. “We discussed nursing Cameron at home and where I’d want his last days to be.

“The doctor agreed to put into his notes that Cameron should not be assessed on the basis of his disabilities but on his past ability to fight and recover from very serious illness.

“My biggest fear of all is that Cameron would be taken from me, and unable to communicate his thoughts and feelings.

“Nobody would understand his care requirements as I wouldn’t be allowed to be with him when he needs me most and that’s what scares me most of all. I just don’t think people breaking the stay-at-home rules or finding ways round them realise the more the virus spreads, the more pressure there is on the NHS and the more chance my son and people like him will die.”