Common Respiratory Virus Lands 14-Month-Old in ICU: 'I Freaked Out,' Says Toddler's Mom

A Louisiana mom is warning parents after her 14-month-old daughter washospitalized for a common respiratory virus.

Her mom, Mary Danna Daste, said the RSV started as a cough.

A doctor prescribed antibiotics, but Vivian wasn’t improving.

“Her fever spiked to 103, and then the shallow breathing came so we went straight to Children’s [Hospital in New Orleans]. Within 24 hours we were putting her in the ICU. That’s kind of when I freaked out,” Daste said. “She was hooked up to a lot of wires.”

There, doctors diagnosed Vivian with RSV, which had also led to pneumonia andthe adenovirus.

“They said it’s really bad this year, compared to other years,” Daste said. “Out of the 19 rooms they had in ICU, about nine had children positive with RSV.”

“Every winter we fill a lot of beds with babies with RSV, unfortunately,” Dr. Denise Kerut, a pediatrician at Children’s,told the news station.

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According to the Centers for Disease Control, around 57,000 children age 5 and younger are hospitalized each year for RSV. The children are put on oxygen or ventilatorsto help their breathingand are typically released after a few days.

Vivian stayed at Children’s for three days, during which Daste said she “was really scared,” but the toddler thankfully made it home for Christmas.

source: people.com