ST. GEORGE, Utah (KUTV) — A St. George toddler spent her second birthday fighting for her life after getting RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, and COVID-19.
Taryn Bennion said her daughter Penelope had a mild fever and cough, which quickly turned into a serious illness.
“I saw her struggling so hard to breathe,” Bennion said. “Grunting a lot and her nostrils were flaring.”
After visiting two different clinics, Penelope went to St. George Regional Hospital. Bennion said they were told they’d need to be flown to a different hospital due to a lack of equipment, specifically pediatric intubation.
“It is kind of concerning just knowing that the equipment isn’t here,” Bennion said. “So, if it had been any worse, if it had started affecting her sooner, or if I didn’t catch it in time, then it’s a very real possibility that she could’ve died.”
Penelope was life-flighted to Primary Children’s Hospital in Lehi.
“We were told, ‘Well we don’t have any beds in Salt Lake, but we have six beds available in Lehi,’” Bennion said.
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Dr. Nathan Money, a pediatric hospitalist at the University of Utah and Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital, said that while children’s hospitals are full right now due to a surge in RSV and other viruses, such as the flu and COVID-19, they’re not turning anyone away.
“The hospitals are incredibly busy right now,” he explained. “When we hit our room capacity, even when all our rooms are full, we have other ways of making room for children, one of which is room sharing. So a lot of times we can put children who have the same viruses in the same room. Another way we can do that is to put them in different units within the same hospital.”
As for why Penelope had to go to multiple hospitals before receiving the care she needed?
“Many hospitals that are adult hospitals with pediatric units within them, do not have pediatric intensivists that are staffed within them at that hospital,” said Dr. Money. “So, they can support children with respiratory diseases up to a certain degree, but when it gets to the point of needing intensive care, like positive pressure or putting in a tube and breathing for the child, that requires very specialized care and equipment.”
Penelope spent two and a half days intubated and is now recovering at home.
Dr. Money suggested seeking medical attention if a child shows signs of fast, hard, and sustained breathing.
He also advises general protective measures, such as covering coughs and sneezes, hand washing, staying hydrated, avoiding contact with sick people, and keeping children from public places if they are sick.
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