An 8-year-old Queens boy who survived the Kawasaki-like inflammatory disease linked to coronavirus was greeted by a parade of first responders, neighbors and loved ones as he made a triumphant return home on Tuesday.
Dozens of well wishers — including rows of first responders in protective face masks — clapped for Jayden Hardowar as his parents helped him to their Richmond Hill home, where a colorful “welcome home” sign was hung on the front door.
“It feels so good having Jayden back home,” the boy’s father, Roup, a Con Ed worker, told The Post.
“We could have lost our son.”
Jayden likely contracted the virus in late April, leading his pediatrician to treat him for a brief bout of fever and diarrhea.
Then, on April 29, the boy called out weakly to his mom Navita from his bed, having lost the strength to breathe. He was turning blue.
The family called an ambulance, and his 15-year-old brother Tyron began performing CPR, which he’d learned in the Boy Scouts.
Jayden had suffered an inflammation of his heart that led to cardiac arrest.
He was transferred to Cohen Children’s Hospital in Nassau County, where he was put on a ventilator in the ICU and was unable to speak to his parents when they tried to video chat with him.
The Long Island hospital conducted an antibody test, which found that Jayden had contracted COVID-19 at an earlier time.
The boy still appeared weak and didn’t say a word as he was welcomed home.
But, his dad said that thanks to the quick work of first responders, Jayden didn’t suffer neurological issues, as the family had feared.
One of the FDNY firefighters who helped save Jayden was there Tuesday to cheer him on.
“It was a group effort, one shock and we got his pulse back,” said firefighter Tony Gonzalez. “One great operation that made a difference in one family’s life.”
The family is hoping to travel to Florida by the end of the year. Jayden’s 11-year-old sister Maya, for one, also had other plans for her little brother.
“What I really want to do when he comes home is ride our bikes, but he may not have enough strength,” she said, adding that she can’t wait to “torture him again like before.”
Additional reporting by Amanda Woods
