'I accidentally took too much paracetamol - my organs failed and I nearly died'

'I accidentally took too much paracetamol - my organs failed and I nearly died' Riley Lubas, 20, was studying at the University of Bath when he came down with a cold A student experienced organ failure and nearly lost his life after unintentionally overdosing on paracetamol. Riley Lubas, 20, fell ill with a severe cold in March 2025 during his first year at the University of Bath. Unknowingly, Riley took two different over-the-counter medications both containing paracetamol. After a couple of days, Riley began suffering from stomach pains and was unable to eat, prompting him to ring 111, who advised him to attend A&E. Riley's liver began to fail and he was transferred to King's College Hospital in London. Within hours of reaching the ICU at King's, Riley went into multiple organ failure and was put on life support. After spending a few days at the top of the UK's liver transplant list, the organ miraculously began to recover on its own. Within a fortnight, Riley was removed from life support and was relearning how to walk and talk. Riley, a bartender from Newport, Wales, said: "It was mad how quickly it all escalated. Because I was already sick, when my stomach hurt I just assumed I'd caught a stomach bug, so I didn't notice the pain in my liver specifically. I'm just so grateful that I was able to come out the other end alright." Riley was studying creative media at the University of Bath when he was struck down with a springtime cold. Riley said: "It felt pretty non-eventful. People get freshers' flu or colds all the time in first year, so I got two medicines. "I didn't realise at the time that both had paracetamol in them. It wasn't until I felt my stomach hurting and couldn't keep food down that my flatmates suggested I call 111." Staff at Royal United Hospital's emergency department ran tests on Riley, uncovering serious concerns about his liver. His parents, Chris and Kate Lubas, aged 40 and 39, rushed to the hospital from Newport after receiving his call. Chris, a company director, told Talk to the Press: "Riley was admitted to a ward with something wrong with his liver - I think the doctors were concerned it was hepatitis. It got to the end of the day, so we went home after visiting hours closed. "Hours later, at 1.30 in the morning, I got a call from the ICU staff at the hospital saying we had to get there immediately. All they could say at the time was they were doing everything they could." Upon arriving at the hospital, Chris and Kate were told by doctors that Riley's liver was on the verge of failure. They watched helplessly as their son's condition worsened over the following hours, leaving him delirious and hallucinating. Chris said: "At that point, they decided to transfer him to King's College Hospital, where they have a specialised ICU. By 6pm that night he was sedated and on life support and dialysis in multiple organ failure. "The staff there were able to finally tell us how bad it had gotten. His liver was failing, which led to a spike in his heart rate from the stress on his body. "He also had about 24 to 48 hours' worth of fluids in his brain, so they were concerned about that. Then his lungs and kidneys stopped working too. We were so distressed and had no idea how this could have happened so quickly." Staff at King's College Hospital questioned the family about Riley's paracetamol consumption, and after locating the two medications, were able to establish what had occurred. Chris said: "It didn't necessarily help with a solution, but it was good to know the cause at last." Riley was placed at the top of the liver transplant list in the UK, but complications with his heart prevented him from undergoing surgery for two days. During that period, doctors began to notice signs of improvement in his liver. Chris said: "The medical staff had said that with how bad his liver was, it was as good as irreversible, which is why he was on the transplant list to begin with. But when that was delayed, they spotted some improvement in the liver. We watched Riley's situation closely for a couple of days, and he continued to improve, until he was taken off dialysis and life support just a week later." Having been on life support, Riley faced the enormous challenge of relearning how to walk and talk. He spent a total of six weeks at King's College Hospital before being transferred back to an ICU in Newport. Chris said: "We were amazed to see his improvement. He'd had a tracheostomy, so he needed to learn how to speak again and, because of how many organs shut down, had to relearn walking too. "But just seeing him up and alive again was unbelievable. There's no exact answer for why it happened this way, but the doctors did think that his health and age would have supported the liver's recovery." A year and a half following the beginning of Riley's recovery, he has returned to normal life, working as a pub bartender. Chris and Kate completed a 50km hike across the Gower Peninsula on Saturday, September 12, to raise funds for King's College ICU and increase awareness about paracetamol overdose. Chris said: "The help of the staff meant so much to us during this time. Plus, we really want to raise awareness around the paracetamol issue, especially for young people. We've raised the concern with the Pharmaceutical Journal, which wants to make warnings more apparent on packaging."