‘Beautiful boy’ Aaron Doherty laid to rest

Mr. Jim Doherty confirmed Aaron had previously tested positive for Covid-19 and explained how his son seemed to recover from the virus without displaying any significant symptoms.

Aaron was laid to rest following his funeral in St. Columba’s Church, Long Tower on Friday.

“Aaron at the time of his death was Covid negative, we were told he had heart failure, that they couldn’t resuscitate him,” Mr. Doherty told BBC Newsline.

The Department of Health (DoH) in Northern Ireland defines a Covid-19 related death as one that occurs within 28 days of someone testing positive for Covid-19.

Mr. Doherty said he is determined the death of his son will be reduced to a mere Covid-19 statistic.

“I take great exception to newspaper headlines which say Aaron was NI’s youngest Covid victim. He didn’t have Covid when he died. Recent tests for the virus were negative. He was tested only last week. It was negative.

“I want people to know that, when Aaron died, he didn’t have Covid-19.

“He had an underlying health condition and, as far as we are concerned, he died from heart failure,” said Mr. Doherty.

Aaron took ill on Monday and was transported to Altnagelvin Hospital in an ambulance but sadly passed away on Tuesday morning.

Aaron, who was from the Creggan area of the city, had been diagnosed with Cushing’s Syndrome (occurs when your body is exposed to high levels of the hormone cortisol) for a long time earlier this year.

Deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill paid tribute to Aaron during a press conference on Thursday.

“Aaron’s passing is a cruel reminder of the situation we are faced with,” she said.