Texas Mom of Infant With RSV Feels Helpless Amid Surge of Dangerous Pediatric Illness

RSV respiratory syncytial virus Rebecca Lara Texas Children's Hospital

By Joel Brussels , Parent Herald Oct 29, 12:01 pm

Photo: (Photo : PEDRO PARDO/AFP via Getty Images)

A mom from Texas is speaking out about the helpless feeling she is experiencing watching her newborn baby in the hospital with a respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

Rebecca Lara told ABC News' Whit Johnson that her five-week-old daughter Lily has been given supplemental oxygen for three days now while she is confined at the Texas Children's Hospital in Houston.

Lara said it is tough because she feels helpless and does not know how to help them. The mom of five said that all of her kids were recently sick, but Lily's condition deteriorated rapidly.

Lara said that at one point, her youngest daughter's breathing became so labored at home that they had to call an ambulance. She added that it was like a choking cough, so her daughter Lily was going in and out of breathing. Lara noted that her child's breathing was so bad that she decided to call the ambulance herself.

Children suffering from RSV is rising in the United States

She added that she couldn't do anything. Lily is one of the dozens of kids hospitalized with RSV at the Texas Children's Hospital. RSV is a respiratory virus spiking among kids in the United States, leaving some pediatric hospitals filled to capacity across the country.

RSV usually causes cold-like symptoms, but the illness can become severe and dangerous, especially for infants. At least ten kids with RSV are being treated in the intensive care unit (ICU) of the Texas Children's Hospital, the largest pediatric hospital in the country.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that infections due to RSV have increased by 69 percent over the last four weeks, spiking from 4,667 to 7,917, and they are now appearing earlier than usual.

According to an analysis from ABC News, pediatric bed occupancy in the country is the highest it has been in two years, with 75 percent of the estimated 40,000 beds filled with patients as of Monday afternoon.

Nightmare scenario for hospitals in the U.S. as RSV, flu, and COVID cases soar

To make matters worse for hospitals handling an influx of pediatric patients sick with RSV, doctors are still dealing with the ongoing COVID pandemic and preparing for what could be the most severe flu season seen in the U.S. in years, Reuters reported.

Dr. Melanie Kitagawa, the medical director of the pediatric ICU at Texas Children's Hospital, said in an interview that the hospital is already seeing an increase in flu cases converging with the rise in patients suffering from RSV.

She said they have many kids admitted right now with RSV, and there are now kids who will end up with the flu. She added that is their main concern.