Newborn mother hospitalized with RSV finds hospital overcrowded but ready to help as her breathing spikes

Colorado’s severe respiratory season continues to hit hard, especially among young children. I have reported that I have received

Denver’s mother, Lani Young, said two-month-old Malcolm contracted RSV last week. She explained that it was like a little man’s stomach was sucked under his ribs when he tried to breathe.

“He was getting worse and worse. It was obvious how hard he was trying to breathe. And for such a tiny little baby, it was really stressful to watch,” Young said. I got

Malcolm’s case is just one of hundreds as Colorado battles what it calls an unprecedented early and severe RSV season. After the state grappled with two consecutive severe winter waves of coronavirus during the pandemic, especially with an increase in flu and COVID-19 cases among adults.

“It was good to be hospitalized”

Malcolm’s two-year-old sister, Tenney, attends nursery school and had a cold this fall, but it wasn’t too serious. However, Young suspects that’s how the bugs were brought into their home in the first place.

Malcolm was admitted to Rocky Mountain Children’s Hospital in Denver on Thursday. Young was confident his son would be okay, but he admitted he was scared at times.

“I’m so glad I came to the hospital,” she said. “It’s just that he was small in this bed,” she said, hooked up to an IV along with a “very powerful oxygen machine.”

She said Malcolm wore pulse socks on his legs and had a monitor on his abdomen. Luckily I was still able to hold him. But it’s beeping. The nurse and doctor are very calm, but you can really see the level of urgency and caution around him. ”

Malcolm received pressurized oxygen therapy.

“We’ve basically run out of machines, so they said if he doesn’t respond to this or some other intervention, we’ll need to send him to the intensive care unit.” , it was necessary to “increase and increase” the amount of oxygen.

Malcolm then seems to stabilize for the night and turn the corner the next morning.

Malcolm steadily improved and was released a few days later on Sunday.

Their story comes at a time when state health departments and children’s hospitals are reporting that patient capacity is strained, but they are still fully capable of helping children and families.

No major decline in childhood respiratory syncytial virus in sight

Children’s Hospital Colorado, Colorado’s largest pediatric facility, has reached “100 percent capacity,” with all units and emergency departments extremely busy, says Deputy Chief Medical Officer Kevin Carney, Ph.D. increase. He noted the glimmer of progress.

“There are some hints of hope in that we think we’ve probably peaked in terms of RSV numbers,” he said. “They’re still really, really going up, but the speed they were increasing before has really slowed down.”

However, he said he did not expect the situation to ease significantly over the next few weeks.

Carney said, “We can hope that they will do their best to give us a little respite, but at this point, we are hopeful that this will continue into the new year.

In a briefing with reporters, state officials said the five-country metropolitan area of ​​Denver has recorded 895 RSV hospitalizations, the majority of them children, and statewide 255 school and child hospitalizations. He said an outbreak of care and two more residential outbreaks had been documented.

In addition, the state has also managed 379 COVID-19 hospitalizations and 164 influenza hospitalizations, most of them adults.

State epidemiologist Dr. Rachel Herlihy highlighted what the state has seen over the past few weeks.

Herlihy said she also had a respiratory infection last week and is feeling better.

Last week, Gov. Jared Polis’ office said he had tested positive for COVID-19 despite being vaccinated and asymptomatic. In the release, the spokesperson said he is being tested regularly for known exposures and will be at home on a full schedule for five days, if he remains asymptomatic, until he is no longer contagious. I said I would work.

Scott Buchman, who heads the health department’s disease control and public health response division, said hospital bed capacity remains precariously tight, especially for children.

He presented a slide showing that there are only two pediatric ICU beds available statewide. However, he noted that the hospital system is closely linked and is “expanding capacity in every possible way”. Also, when other patients improve and leave the hospital, the beds are released.

Expansion efforts include hospitals primarily serving adults, providing support to pediatric centers, and coordinating and transferring patients as needed. Still, “currently, there is extreme stress on pediatric ICU capacity in Colorado,” he said.

Courtesy of Children’s Hospital Colorado

“I knew she needed help, so I didn’t want to go home.”

Brianne Price of Lyttelton, another mother with RSV, can attest to that.

Her daughter, Lily, who is nearly six months old, recently had a cough and difficulty breathing, she said. Price says she and her husband, who is a paramedic, took Lily to Colorado Children’s Hospital.

“She put her head down and then breathed into her abdomen,” Price said. “If she was blowing into her abdominal ribs, it was a big deal the nurses told me it was a little hard to explain, but that meant she was having trouble breathing. It’s the biggest sign we’ve ever known.”

They first took her to the South Campus of the Children’s Hospital on the Highlands Ranch, where she was seen, sent home, and returned when Lily’s symptoms worsened.

“It was pretty packed. We ended up waiting three hours, which wasn’t as long as some others, but were triaged in the waiting room.

As the south campus was full, Lily was taken by ambulance to Aurora’s main campus and given oxygen.

“I always knew she was in the right place. I didn’t want to be home with her. I knew she needed help, so I didn’t want to go home.” It was,” said Price.

Like Malcolm, Lily was hospitalized overnight with difficulty breathing, but gradually recovered and showed signs of improvement.

“It was great that the nurses checked her condition and made sure she was breathing well and had no trouble breathing,” Price said. I really appreciate that the doctor listened to us as well whether we felt confident enough to go home. ”

“I’m just grateful that we were in a place that really cared about Lily,” she said.

Lily was hospitalized for four days and did not need supplemental oxygen at home when she was discharged.

Wear a mask, wash your hands, avoid crowds and talk about it

Meanwhile, with the holiday season approaching and Thanksgiving coming up this week, Carney urged families not to spread the disease to others and to have a clear discussion before getting together.

He recommended having conversations with the people you’re gathering about who might be ill and who are at higher risk of more serious infections.

Carney says masking, washing your hands, and avoiding large crowds and indoor spaces can help.

“But take the opportunity to talk to family and friends and say, ‘I know there’s a lot going on this year. If your child has a runny nose, cough or a slight fever, please let us know.'”

“It may be mild at first, but this is the beginning. I think it would be better to talk about it.

“There are a lot of important things we’ve learned about pre-holiday get-togethers,” Herlihy said, adding that one strategy is to get people together, especially if someone in the group is at higher risk. I pointed out that it is to test people who are.

“We’ve learned that masks are a very important strategy, especially if you’re in contact with high-risk people or if you’re in a crowded indoor environment.