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The parents of a student who suffered organ failure and nearly died after accidentally overdosing on paracetamol have spoken of the distress it caused and said they have "no idea how it happened so quickly".
Riley Lubas, 20, came down with a bad cold in March 2025 in his first year at university, and took two over-the counter medicines without realising they both contained paracetamol.
After being placed on life support and enduring weeks in hospital, he went on to make a miraculous recovery, and has even relearned how to walk and talk.
The Royal College of General Practitioners Cymru Wales, external advised people to always "read the label carefully" and seek advice from a GP before taking medication.
Riley was studying creative media at the University of Bath when he got hit with a springtime cold which he described as feeling "pretty non-eventful".
"People get freshers flu or colds all the time in first year, so I got two medicines," he said.
"I didn't realise at the time that both had paracetamol in them."
A paracetamol overdose can cause severe liver and kidney damage, according to the NHS, external, with early symptoms often including nausea or vomiting and stomach.
Riley decided to phone for help when his stomach started hurting.
Tests at Bath's Royal United Hospital discovered that his liver was struggling.
His parents, Chris, 40 and Kate Lubas, 39, were called by Riley and raced from Newport to be with their son.
Chris, a company director, said doctors were initially concerned it was hepatitis, external.
"Hours later, at half one in the morning, I got a call from the ICU staff at the hospital saying we had to get there immediately," he added.
"All they could say at the time was they were doing everything they could."
