After just three doses of an experimental drug , Josh Hardy -- whose parents had to launch a media campaign to get him the medicine -- is sitting up , doing homework and playing board games with his brothers , his mother said . Just last week , Josh was so sick he could barely get out even a few words . He was in heart and kidney failure , and vomited blood several times an hour as his family held a vigil in the intensive care unit of a Memphis hospital . Josh received doses of the drug brincidofovir Wednesday , Saturday , and Tuesday , and tests showed the level of adenovirus in his blood went down from 250,000 copies per milliliter to 367 copies per milliliter . `` We expect it will be out of his system by Tuesday , '' his mother , Aimee Hardy , said Friday . `` I 'm beside myself with how effective this drug was so quickly . '' Already they 're seeing results of the waning virus in Josh 's system . He no longer has bleeding in his stomach and intestines . Before receiving brincidofovir , Josh was fighting for his life . The adenovirus was ravaging his immune system , left vulnerable by treatment for cancer , and the only available antiviral drug to treat it was n't working . In early February , Chimerix , the company that makes brincidofovir , refused to give Josh its experimental drug . But after reports by CNN and intense pressure from social media , Chimerix and the Food and Drug Administration came up with a plan to get the medicine to Josh and other patients who request it . Drug company will give ailing 7-year-old medicine that could save him . Traditionally , drug companies have not been allowed to use so-called `` compassionate use '' patients like Josh as study subjects , so helping them out has been pure charity work on behalf of the drug company . But the FDA allowed Chimerix to use data from Josh and others as part of its application to the FDA , helping to get the drug on the market faster . Seven other adenovirus patients have inquired about being the next in line to get the drug , according to Kenneth Moch , the president of Chimerix , and several of those patients have already received doses . Even though the virus seems to be leaving Josh 's body , his mother says his kidneys are still in danger . In February , his kidneys were just starting to recover from the damage of powerful chemotherapy . But then the adenovirus struck , and his doctors had no choice but to give him an antiviral drug that further damaged his kidneys . Now that Josh is taking brincidofovir , he 's no longer taking the other drug that hurt his kidneys , but the damage was done : His kidneys still are n't working and he has to undergo dialysis three times a week . His mother worries he might be on dialysis the rest of his life . `` What if he has to be on dialysis long-term ? If he could have gotten the brincidofovir earlier , it could have been avoided . That will always bother me , '' she said . Josh Hardy 's father says son faces 'long road to recovery ' She 's also worried about something else -- Josh 's state of mind . As recently as last month , Josh had a `` go get 'em '' attitude about fighting his illness , his mother says . But now , even though he 's getting better , she says he seems to be exhausted after months of being sick and lacks motivation . `` I have n't seen him smile lately , '' she said . `` I try to get him to chant every day , ' I 'm as good as new . ' ``
' He has received three doses of an experimental drug . His mother says she is ` ` beside myself with how effective this drug was '' A pharmaceutical company initially refused to provide the medication . The company agreed after pressure by media and pressure from social media .