Doctors told us Minecraft was making our son ill - but he had rare and deadly disease

A nine-year-old boy was told that playing Minecraft was making him poorly - but after “endless” medical investigations he was diagnosed with a rare and deadly disease. William Howard was told by doctors his initial symptom, a twitch in his right leg, could be down to stress from playing the popular video game. But after “endless” medical investigations, an MRI confirmed he has mitochondrial disease - which means his cells won’t work correctly.

William’s parents spoke on camera about the devastating diagnosis - after they were told their nine-year-old son’s “next seizure could be his last”. Simon, 45, and Mihaela, 43, recall how he went from a normal, healthy little boy to paralysed by seizures, seemingly overnight.

William was first driven to hospital by his family on May 21, 2020, when his parents noticed his right leg “dropping” when he tried to walk. Simon, a chef manager, said: “William was going around like normal - but suddenly his leg would give way and he’d fall over.”

He added that his son had been “getting worked up” watching Minecraft videos on YouTube - so when the doctor said it was linked to stress, they thought that must be it.

“He literally had his game thrown in the bin while he was with the doctor, but then the weakness began to affect his upper body.” But after extensive tests, they discovered William had late-onset mitochondrial disease - which only affects nine other people in the world. Watch the video to hear William’s story.