A teenager who died from COVID-19 this year passed in a much more graphic manner than initially thought ... because the walls of his hospital room were drenched in blood.
13-year-old Peyton Baumgarth's coronavirus death in late October was well-documented, but photos recently shared by his mother, Stephanie Franek, show just how gruesome his final moments were as doctors and hospital staff tried life-saving measures that ultimately failed.
The kid had been put on a ventilator after going to a St. Louis hospital. Sure enough, he'd contracted the virus ... but his condition went from bad to worse in just days -- leaving him in need of a therapy called ECMO to level out his plummeting oxygen levels.
For some reason, after the treatment, Peyton started to hemorrhage in his chest, at which point he started having terrible coughing episodes that required emergency surgery. As docs tried replacing the ECMO tubes in his neck, the blood that had pooled there began spraying everywhere as they attempted to resuscitate him and get him breathing.
Peyton ultimately died, and his mother captured photos of the aftermath -- which included blood spatter all over the walls and machinery around his bed.
Stephanie's story serves as a cautionary tale -- she says she never thought she'd lose her son, despite underlying conditions he had that put him more at risk for respiratory issues. Friends and family of Peyton's have started a GoFundMe to help with funeral expenses.
Take heed ... this virus is equally brutal and lethal -- as we can clearly see here.