23-летний Уилл Кармайкл скончался от редкого заболевания после ошибочной диагностики мононуклеоза

Man, 23, went to hospital with 'glandular fever' and never came home Will Carmichael was described as "so kind, so loving, so funny" A "wonderful, funny lad" went into hospital with "glandular fever" and died three months later. Will Carmichael, 23, was believed to be suffering from the common virus when he began suffering from feverish symptoms in 2023, and was prescribed antibiotics. Unknown to Will, he was actually suffering from hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH), a rare, life-threatening immune system disorder which causes the white blood cells to attack other cells within the body. Left untreated, HLH can prove fatal within months. He was taken to Warrington Hospital with worsening symptoms in October 2023, and transferred to Royal Liverpool Hospital, where he was finally diagnosed with the deadly disorder. His cousin Olivia Roberts, 28, said: "Will was always the nicest boy. He was so kind, so loving, so funny. He really was amazing. I know everyone says that about their family. But everyone who met him didn't have a bad word to say about him. "For about a year before 2023, he was diagnosed with mono (glandular fever), and was given antibiotics. He was back and forth, back and forth with the hospital. "It must have been in the October he got really unwell and was rushed to Warrington Hospital with a bad temperature, and his organs seemed not to be functioning properly. They rushed him to Liverpool, and after multiple tests he got diagnosed with HLH." Symptoms of HLH include an enlarged liver, swollen lymph nodes, skin rashes, digestive problems, including stomach ache, vomiting, and diarrhoea, and lung problems. Will, who had just completed an apprenticeship with Howdens Joinery at the time, was also suffering from fluid on the lungs, and a biopsy revealed he had developed lung cancer. Olivia said: "It wasn't a long illness. He was sick in the October, and in January he passed away. It was a complete shock. Before that, he had never been a sickly person. He had always been active. "When he got unwell, we thought it would go away. We thought he would get over it but he didn't. Even when he was still in hospital, I don't think any of us were expecting him to die. "It kind of came out of nowhere. Even in the hospital he was still fighting. On the Monday before he passed away, which was the last time I saw him, he had perked up. He didn't have the tubes on, he was sitting up in his chair and eating. "Then two or three days later we call got called up by the hospital saying 'you need to come, he's going to pass away'. "It was awful. Nobody has been the same since. I don't know how his mum and dad are coping, because Will was their only child." Will died on January 20 2024, just two months after being diagnosed with HLH and three months after going into hospital. His family and friends have decided to participate in a 10,000 ft Skydive in June next year to raise money for Giddo’s Gift, supporting teenagers and young adults with cancer. The charity was founded in memory of Jordan Giddins, who died in 2017 following a a battle with HLH and cancer. Will’s loved ones have previously raised £6,500 for the charity by scaling Mount Snowdon and completing marathons, and received a Star award for their efforts. Olivia said: "Every time I think of Will I think of when I saw him for the first time in the hospital as a baby. Me and him had the best childhood in our grandparents house, going on holidays, going camping. He was such a wonderful, funny lad. I wanted him to know how amazing he was. "Last year his mum and friends did a charity walk in his memory. Hopefully raising money in his memory can be a continuing thing. "HLH is very rare and its usually diagnosed in children. He was not the typical age to get this. It's a disease that I think people need to be aware of, because if it's not treated in the first few months, it's nearly always fatal. "Will was sick for longer than we thought. Maybe if it was caught earlier he might have lived longer. People can survive by stem cell transplant, but Will was past that point when he was diagnosed. It more people are aware, if more people can get checked, more people can be saved." Olivia's "Skydive for Will" fundraiser can be found here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/livs-sky-dive-for-will