@Rose49 and family
Keep your hopes up for your son as though he currently does feel like he's dying and believing this, there is a very good chance he wont.
I say this as I was severely sick, bedbound in a horrific state like I'm hearing your son is in for 8mths (my child was looking after me, I couldn't walk to a toilet most of that time, couldn't even often crawl or even drag myself there). I was to the point not only often couldn't I speak (I was using very basic hand signs for things like I needed food/drink), nor handle light, nor handle moment or sound.
I was also experiencing being completely paralysed at times where I couldn't even move a finger and at times sleeping up to 5 days at a time in like a comatose state without waking up (so not even waking up to eat/drink etc, I couldn't eat a full meal anyway due to the effort involved to chew, I'd take a few bites and then loose consciousness again. I was so weak I often couldn't hold my head up and couldn't sit properly. My pain level was indescribable. I believed I was dying due to my state and in the end actually came to terms with that).
I did actually recover over time (a long time) from being that bad and actually went to have like a full remission for several years before I caught an every day virus and got sick again (I use a wheelchair to go out) but never as bad as I was previously.
No matter how bad your son gets with this, there is hope he will improve in future. I just wanted to let you know that some of us do get that bad but do improve still. I do not know how I survived that sick. This illness can get so dreadful and scary, I wish your family and your son the best.
Thank you to your family for sharing your story with the media.