A 6-year-old boy with cystic fibrosis has recovered from COVID-19

When the coronavirus pandemic first began sweeping across the nation, everyone’s eyes were on the most vulnerable populations, including those who were 65 and older. But we soon learned that COVID-19 didn’t discriminate and, besides, there were those at all age ranges who were vulnerable for other reasons, such as chronic lung disease, asthma or a serious heart condition.

One of those people was a 6-year-old boy named Joseph from Clarksville, Tennessee, who was immunocompromised due to cystic fibrosis, a hereditary disease that affects the lungs and digestive system. So when Joseph tested positive for COVID-19, his mother, Sabrina Bostain, was understandably concerned.

According to Sabrina, Joseph had been quarantined at home after developing a fever and cough. He was later taken to the hospital and, on March 19, she confirmed in a Facebook post that he had tested positive for COVID-19.

Sabrina expressed gratitude for their “wonderful care providers” and also asked for prayers. Based on the fact that the post got more than 600 comments, she and her son likely received a surplus of prayers, but that wasn’t all they got.

As Sabrina posted daily updates about Joseph on Facebook, she shared glimpses of the outpouring of generosity and support her son had received from others, including homemade cards, gifts, food and even a drive-by parade.

She shared some photos of the little guy reading a bag full of cards that were sent to him from his new friends.

Then, on April 1, Joseph shared some amazing news himself:

“I’m a cystic fibrosis warrior,” he said, “and I beat COVID-19!”

After that, his mother continued to post daily updates, sharing a countdown to the end of Joseph’s quarantine. The last update was on April 13 and saw the brave kiddo enjoying some time outside with an awesome pair of Harry Potter specs.

“Today I am glad to say that there are no more updates to give!” Sabrina wrote. “I would like to close this chapter of 2020 by thanking everyone for supporting Joseph and our family with prayers and cards and letters and parades, Amazon deliveries, video chats, messages and calls from all over the world, home cooked goods and even a special book by a beautiful author!”

She went on to express gratitude for the “outpouring of love” they had received from so many people.

“Thank you all from the bottom [of] my heart for sharing your kindness and support!!”

We hope to see many more of these happy endings in the weeks to come.