30 november 2023, 13:30
Hospitals are busy with babies and young children who are sick with the common cold virus RS. Almost all children contract the virus before their first birthday. It is often just a cold, but one in a hundred ends up in the hospital. That also happened to Wies from Eindhoven.
Also read: General practitioner Kimberley de Wit about the symptoms of the RS virus and when to call the GP
It has now been almost four weeks since their girl was born at home. “Wies was completely healthy. That seems like a long time ago now,” says Evi van den Oever. It is not surprising that she caught a cold last week, her 2-year-old brother also had a cold. “We went to the health clinic. But there is little you can do about a cold like that, except try to keep her nose clean with a spray of saline solution.”
When the cold gets worse, Evi and her husband Dirk van Hunsel go to the GP post at the Anna Hospital and the Catharina Hospital in Eindhoven twice. Both times the virus appears to be limited to the upper respiratory tract. RS is only dangerous if it spreads to the lungs.
She became calmer. In retrospect we know she was too tired to cry
Evi van den Oever
The following Saturday they notice that their daughter is drinking poorly and that her face is turning gray. “But she also became calmer. We thought, maybe she should rest. Afterwards we know she was too tired to cry.” They call the doctor’s office again.
“The funny thing is that I then thought: am I not overprotective?” They are advised to watch it for a while. But coincidentally, their own GP is also on duty. She calls back and asks to come back to the hospital. “She really saved Wies’ life.”
Also read: My baby coughs a lot, what now?
As soon as they enter the Catharina Emergency Department with Wies, it is all hands on deck. With her experienced eye, the nurse on duty immediately sees that Wies is in respiratory distress. “Suddenly we were standing in a room with all the doctors around us. The oxygen level in her blood turned out to be very low.”
Their baby is intubated and placed on a ventilator. A special IC ambulance takes her to the children’s ICU of Maastricht UMC. “They dragged Wies through.” Now things are getting better. She was taken off the ventilator last Wednesday, and she was able to return to Catharina on Thursday. If she remains stable for 24 hours, she can go home again.
Evi and Dirk are grateful for all the good care, although they do not yet really realize what has happened. “It’s like a kind of film where the images keep coming back.” They share their story to warn other parents. “Be alert and feel free to consult a doctor again if you are unsure. A newborn child is so small and vulnerable.”
How do you recognize symptoms of RS as a parent?
Signals that indicate a serious course of RS are: elevation and wheezing and/or rapid breathing. If your child is very short of breath, the skin between the ribs also pulls inward when he or she inhales. The nostrils sometimes move noticeably with breathing.
Drowsiness is also a signal: your baby seems sleepy and is difficult to wake up, and drinking is also difficult. In rare cases, a baby suddenly stops breathing for a few seconds and the skin turns gray/blue. If in doubt, always contact your GP.
Further reading: Everything about the RS virus
2023-11-30 14:03:32
#virus #killed #newborn #Wies #Parents
