‘He was in absolute turmoil and we felt so helpless.There was nothing we could do’

Just last year, Murray Cameron was running around with his pals, playing football, and getting good reports at school, writes Tracey Bryce.

Fast forward 12 months and his mum describes the youngster as a “shell of his former self”. At one point, he was suffering from terrifying hallucinations that left him screaming. He is, mum Susan is certain, suffering from Long Covid.

“It’s as if it altered his brain,” she said. “It’s been a horrifying time for him – and us – and the situation hasn’t been helped by the fact that so little is still known about the effects of Covid.”

Murray, seven, from Scotstoun in Glasgow, tested positive for Covid in September last year. Susan, 44, said: He was absolutely fine for the first week, completely asymptomatic.”

But then, he started suffering hallucinations. “It was awful,” said his mum. “It started one night when I was reading a bedtime story.

“Murray kept looking over his shoulder as if something was there. When I asked he just said, ‘bad thoughts’. I thought that was strange but I settled him and he slept well. A few days later I was upstairs working when I just heard this scream from the garden. It was Murray. He was clearly terrified and really confused. He even tried to climb over the garden gate as if to get away from something.

“I calmed him down but was quite worried. From then, he spent a lot of time holding his head, crying, saying his brain didn’t feel like his own and begging me to fix it.”

She called the GP, but was told as Murray had Covid, he couldn’t be seen by the doctor. With persistence, it was agreed to make an urgent referral to psychiatry. But while the family waited, Murray deteriorated.

“Murray wasn’t sleeping. It would take me until midnight to settle him and two hours later he would be up, pacing and clearly terrified of something.

“He was having a total of 3-4 hours of broken sleep a night, and when he wasn’t sleeping he was agitated and frustrated. His circulation was terrible and his pupils dilated. He was just in absolute turmoil and we felt helpless as there was nothing we could do. He can’t engage in school lessons like he used to. His cognitive abilities have declined. He stopped speaking for two months. Even now, he’s only saying a few words.

“Murray is a shell of the fun, chatty, bright boy he used to be. It’s heartbreaking.”

Murray has seen GPs, paediatricians, had tests and scans – and still has no diagnosis.

“Nobody seems to be making the connection with Covid,” said Susan. “Something has happened to Murray’s brain, and perhaps a malfunction in his immune system has affected the brain.

“Studies in the US have shown Covid can affect the brain and I’m convinced this is what has happened to Murray.

“Murray is now back at school for a short time for a bit of routine. He can read simple books and the hallucinations seem less severe and happen less. But every time he catches a common cold, his symptoms flare up. There has got to be a connection.

“It’s been torture, and now we just need the experts to put the pieces of the jigsaw together and hopefully save other families from the same trauma.”