The sickest baby in the hospital

In June 2022, mother-of-three Kellie Damon noticed her 13-month son Owen was unusually quiet and still.

For a baby who was always on the go, Kellie was concerned, especially when she noticed how pale he looked. Something wasn’t right.

A trip to the GP confirmed that Owen had RSV.

“Of course, I googled RSV and found out that it’s usually a mild, cold-like virus so didn’t think too much of it,” Kellie said.

That night Kellie was woken by the sound of Owen struggling to breath.

“I’m normally a heavy sleeper so you can image how loud Owen was wheezing for the sound to wake me,” she said. “He was breathing so fast, so noisily. I also noticed the skin between his ribs was sucking in.”

Owen was rushed to hospital. There, it was apparent he was not the only infant with severe RSV.

“The ED and wards were at capacity with sick babies. We were told most had RSV.”

After waiting nearly 12 hours, an “exhausted and floppy” Owen was admitted for observation. Kellie describes his appearance as looking like “death warmed up.”

“I knew something was really wrong and watched him every minute we were there.”

After an assessment, a code blue was sounded, with doctors and nurses “running from everywhere” to help Owen breath.

He was then placed on a drip, gastric feeding tube and high-flow oxygen support. His condition was now stable, but not improving.

After some time, a passing junior doctor noticed something alarming.

“This young doctor just happened to be walking past and stopped in her tracks when she saw Owen. She was very sure he was suffering from pneumonia and needed IV antibiotics as soon as possible.”

Owen responded quickly to the antibiotics, yet still spent around five days in hospital. Staff described him as “the sickest baby on the ward.”

“There were babies as young as three weeks old there. It was horrendous,” Kellie recalls.

“Owen is our third child and I’ve never experienced anything like it. I have gone from being a mum without a care in the world to one that is on edge at even the slightest cough or sniffle.”

Now 2.5 years old, Owen has made a full recovery.

“If there was an immunisation available and I had a new baby, I would absolutely be the first in line. Any parent would want to avoid such a terrifying experience.”