A mother is urging visitors not to kiss babies after her newborn son was left fighting for his life with a deadly virus. Tilly-Rose Murtha called an ambulance days after bringing her son Vinnie Murtha Grant home from hospital, as he was breathing rapidly and not feeding well.
Doctors said the three-week-old had RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus), a common cause of coughs and colds, which triggered a chest infection and then pneumonia that caused a collapsed lung. Vinnie also contracted viral meningitis and was put into a medically induced coma to give his tiny body the chance to fight off the infections.
Three-Month Hospital Stay
Heart-breaking photos show the tot wearing an oxygen mask and surrounded by wires during his three-month hospital stay. Nine months on from the ordeal, Tilly-Rose, who is unsure how Vinnie contracted RSV, is warning people not to kiss babies as the virus can be passed on that way.
Tilly-Rose, from Shrewsbury, Shropshire, told how the problems began after she had brought Vinnie home in December last year. She said: "It was awful. He was having breathing apnoea [on December 31] where he would hold his breath for 16 seconds and then rapidly breathe [repeatedly]."
Incubated on Life Support
She added: "He was only home for a week and two days [from hospital] before he was back in the hospital. He came back positive for RSV and enterovirus [viral meningitis]. They said that if he didn't improve within half an hour then he would be incubated on life support.
"In less than half an hour they realised it wasn't going to work so he was taken down to a treatment room and incubated. He was three weeks old and slightly premature so he was really, really tiny."
Awareness Campaign
Vinnie was eventually discharged from hospital in March and is now doing well. Tilly-Rose says she isn't sure exactly when Vinnie caught the RSV but wants to raise awareness of the potential dangers of kissing babies.
Tilly-Rose said: "We were preparing for the worst. You just felt out of control of things basically, not knowing what was going to happen. We're not even 100% sure how Vinnie caught the RSV.
"From transporting a baby from the hospital back home for a week over Christmas, he caught it. I saw that it was RSV season and I just thought it was really important to remind people to not kiss babies.
"I know it's exciting when you have a new baby, family come around and visit. I know everybody wants to cuddle the baby, and that's fine, but just keep in mind if anyone has been poorly or feeling a bit under the weather, just take that extra precaution."
She added: "The photos of Vinnie are obviously very triggering and upsetting but I wanted to show the world that this is the position you could land a little baby in. The kiss isn't for the baby, the kiss is for them."
What is RSV?
According to the NHS, RSV is a common cause of coughs and colds that can be serious for babies and older adults. In babies, RSV can lead to an infection called bronchiolitis and can also cause pneumonia. RSV is typically spread through coughs and sneezes by someone who has the virus.
