New Hampshire Baby Spends 10 Days on Ventilator in Maine Hospital While Fighting RSV

A baby girl from New Hampshire is on the road to recovery after being involved in a tough battle with the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). The illness left the young child hospitalized an hour away in Maine due to the RSV surge in kids and infants.

Baby Rue was born 11 weeks early, forcing her to spend a long time in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). When she was born, Rue was in a precarious state, weighing just two pounds and 10 ounces.

Shannon Goodwin said her daughter Rue only spent three weeks home with them out of three months. And that time was cut short when she was diagnosed with RSV. Goodwin said what started as a cough and some wheezing from her daughter quickly turned into something much more serious.

Baby Rue nearly lost her life

According to the worried mom, her daughter was grey and limp and would not react when touched. Goodwin quickly brought Rue to the pediatrician's office, where her daughter's temperature dropped as she struggled to breathe.

Goodwin told WNDU they called 911 and rushed the baby to the hospital for treatment. Rue's condition was grave when she arrived there, with doctors trying to intubate her seven times. She also lost her heartbeat during that time, with doctors performing CPR on her for four and a half minutes to revive Rue.

Doctors knew she needed to be flown to a larger hospital to treat her RSV. Finding a hospital with a room for Rue was a tough challenge, as the RSV surge is affecting many American families. They contacted multiple hospitals, but they had no available NICU spaces.

Rue was eventually flown to Maine Medical Center in Portland, where, fortunately, there was available bed space.

Read Also: RSV Responsible for 1 in 50 Child Deaths Worldwide Under the Age of 5: Study

Rue placed on a ventilator for ten days as she battled RSV

The infant was placed on a ventilator, and days of waiting started for Goodwin and her family. Baby Rue was intubated for ten days. She was finally taken off the machine on Wednesday. Her mom said that she had been showing signs of improvement.

Goodwin said she finally got to hold her and cried a lot. She said that her oldest kid got sick a few years ago with RSV, but what happened to Rue is much worse. Goodwin said her son had a waterfall runny nose and a cough back then, but he was fine.

Rue is still in the hospital getting treatment, but she is getting closer to being back home with her mother and siblings every day. Following her traumatic experience, Goodwin wants to warn her fellow parents about the dangers of RSV.

Goodwin's family has set up a GoFundMe page to help pay for their medical and travel expenses.

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