Rare virus sends dozens of Colorado children to ICUs

DENVER - A rare virus has sickened dozens of Colorado children, filling up intensive care units at hospitals around the state, CBS Denver reports.

Human enterovirus 68 has the same symptoms of the common cold, but within hours those affected are severely ill.

Parents are shocked that within just hours of exhibiting cold symptoms, their children are left gasping for air and placed on a ventilator in the ICU.

"I remember thinking I was going to die," said 13-year-old Will Cornejo. "Yesterday I felt like I couldn't breathe at all."

Will is still on oxygen and in intensive care but his parents say he's improving.

"He was white as a ghost, his lips were blue, he was completely unconscious at that point," said Will's mother, Jennifer Cornejo.

His father, Matt Cornejo, said they felt "sheer terror."

They called 911.

"It was the scariest moment of my life because he was surrounded by five paramedics and a police officer," said Matt Cornejo.

Will had to be airlifted to the hospital.

"At that point we weren't sure he was going to make it," said Jennifer.

In the ICU at Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children, Dr. Raju Meyappan said the virus hadn't shown up in Denver until now.

Now he is seeing how quickly this virus becomes life-threatening, especially in children with mild asthma.

"The onset of symptoms was very rapid, usually within hours," said Meyappan.

Since human enterovirus 68 is a virus, antibiotics don't work. Doctors can only treat the symptoms, helping kids breathe and trying to keep their airways open.

Will is still weak but his mother can tell he is getting better.

"He's texting, he's doing Instagram," said Jennifer Cornejo.

"A lot of people were wondering if I died," said Will. "And I wanted to make sure that they didn't think that, so I started texting people telling them I wasn't."

"It's kind of shocking to be a few minutes away from possibly dying to being a normal eighth-grader," said his father. "We're very relieved."