SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - A Cathedral City mom who previously resided in San Diego County is sharing the dangers of Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) after her infant son recently passed away from related complications.
On Monday, October 3, Jessica Myers and her husband welcomed their third child, William, born six weeks premature but healthy. After living in San Diego County for 12 years, the couple moved to Cathedral City, southeast of Palm Springs, several years ago.
“Just joy. Our family was complete. He was so perfect,” said a tearful Myers.
After nine days, Myers brought her baby home. Concerned about RSV, she tried to take precautions.
“I didn't take him out. We really tried to keep him in as much of a bubble as possible, but he still got sick,” said Myers.
On Thursday, November 10, William came down with a stuffy nose, with a lot of mucus. The next day, he coughed a few times and was working harder to breathe, prompting Myers to take him to the ER.
After a six-hour wait, William tested positive for RSV and was airlifted to Children's Health of Orange County.
A day later, his condition deteriorated.
“The moment I heard them call for the trauma surgeon, I knew my son was dead,” said Myers.
William was taken off life support on November 15.
“The RSV ended up … He succumbed to those symptoms, and his little body just gave out. That just leaves a gaping hole that you don't know how to fill. It feels like a dream. I have to wake up every day and remind myself that my son is dead and experience that wash of grief all over again.”
As a family grieves, friends in San Diego have started a fundraiser to help with funeral expenses.
Meanwhile, Myers hopes by sharing her son's story, she'll be able to prevent others from experiencing the same heartbreak.
"Wash your hands all the time. If you think you’ve washed them enough, you haven’t. Wash them again,” said Myers.
Myers urges parents of infants to quickly get care when symptoms show up and to advocate for their babies at the hospital.
“Make sure when they do triage, they test for RSV, the cold and the flu right away when you get there. I will never know if those six hours we sat in the waiting room would have made a difference. I don’t want anyone to be left wondering because the unimaginable happens to them,” said Myers.
Myers says it's not clear how William contracted the virus. She says a few days after William came down with his first symptoms, the rest of the family started feeling minor, cold-like symptoms.
