GP said our baby had a 'nursery virus', he ended up in intensive care

GP said our baby had a 'nursery virus', he ended up in intensive careSix-month old Lennie King had been having repeated problems with his breathingCommentsNewsNeil Shaw Assistant Editor (Money and Lifestyle)08:25, 14 Apr 2026View 6 ImagesLennie before getting ill with Charlie King and partner Abbie RodgersParents were told their son's 'rattly' breath was just a viral infection caught at nursery - until he ended up in intensive care with pneumonia and a collapsed lung. Charlie King and partner Abbie Rogers, both 31, began noticing their six-month-old son Lennie getting regular colds and chest infections.‌The new parents, from Thamesmead, southeast London, initially put it down to viruses picked up at nursery. But after several months of "rattly breath" and trouble breathing at night, they kept him home. Their GP repeatedly reassured them it was viral, and nothing to worry about, when they took their son to get checked, they said.‌But after six months of back-and-forth with doctors, Lennie's condition had worsened, they took their son to the hospital. It was there they learned he had a collapsed lung and pneumonia, and was sedated and put on a ventilator. The little lad, who had just turned one, needed two life-saving surgeries but went on to be discharged and made a full recovery.‌View 6 ImagesLennie in hospital.Now four, the parents campaign for more awareness and dad Charlie is running the London Marathon in aid of Evelina London Children's Hospital, the hospital that saved Lennie's life. Charlie, a lorry mechanic, said: "Lennie always seemed to be getting unwell, and he didn't sleep well at night."We put it down to the nursery where he was in contact with lots of other children. Doctors agreed it was viral and would clear on its own, but when we took him out of nursery he was still getting ill in the same way. After six months, we said enough was enough, and took him to hospital.‌"They told us,...