A mother of five has issued an urgent warning for this year’s cold and flu season after her 21-month-old daughter was hospitalised with a common virus.
Baby Matilda contracted RS virus from her four-year-old sister. If her parents had not monitored her worsening symptoms, it could have killed her.
According to her mother Justine Ilarda, the brazen child showed the same symptoms as always.
She had a bit of a cough and a runny nose, but was still running around the house, eating and drinking and otherwise pretending not to be sick.
Twelve days later, she underwent emergency surgery to remove fluid from her brain.
Justine told FEMAIL that doctors had warned her about the risks associated with putting a baby under general anesthesia while it is sick.
But if you don’t, it could have much worse consequences.
“If we didn’t do that, there was a risk that she would develop sepsis or meningitis or that her organs would fail,” she recalls.
Justine Ilarda has revealed how sick her baby Matilda became from RSV – a common virus
“We were terrified.”
Nine days after Matilda contracted the virus, her condition deteriorated.
“She started holding her ear and complaining that it hurt,” said Justine, who quickly took her toddler to the emergency room.
She was told her ears were red but not infected and as a result was quickly sent home.
The next day, the normally happy toddler held her head in her hands and screamed. She had a fever, so Justine decided to bypass the doctor and go to the emergency room.
She had a bit of a cough and a runny nose, but was still running around the house, eating and drinking and otherwise pretending not to be sick.
‘The doctor in ER told us her ears were infected, but there’s not much you can do for ear infections as they’re usually viral. He gave her Panadol and Nurofen and she improved so he was happy to send her home,’ she said.
But his boss intervened and gave the family antibiotics before they left.
They went straight home and started the course. Justine assumed her baby would recover within a few hours, but she didn’t. She was in terrible pain and listless, so they rushed back to the hospital.
The doctors ran tests and confirmed that she, like her older sister, had the RS virus. But other tests caught their attention, so she was admitted and given intravenous antibiotics.
“That same day, her eardrums were punctured. She was in a lot of pain. If she didn’t sleep, she would cry in pain,” Justine said.
The ENT specialist was called in and after her parents noticed that her ears were sticking out further than normal, they decided to do a CT scan.
It turned out that the infection had spread to the bone.
“They said the risk of meningitis was high and she needed emergency surgery to remove as much of the infection as possible,” she said.
Justine has five daughters between the ages of 1 and 15 and they are rarely sick, most of them have never needed antibiotics.
“We had to trust that the doctors were doing what was best for her. It was one of the most terrifying days of my life,” she said.
“If your little one is sick, keep him or her home,” she urged
“The doctors took a chance with the antibiotics and they were right. If they had prescribed the antibiotics incorrectly or if we had waited another day to take her to the hospital, I can’t even imagine how scary the situation would have been.”
Justine said she was shaking for four days while her baby was seriously ill.
“The day after surgery, she made eye contact with us, smiled and asked for a banana. I could finally breathe again,” she said.
The mother is still breastfeeding Matilda and says it helped them both get through the experience, giving the little one nutrients and comfort when she couldn’t eat and while the doctors were poking and prodding her.
“I am very grateful that she got the right treatment and is back to being the naughty version of herself,” she said, adding that the viruses appear to be extra dangerous this year.
“If your little one is sick, keep him or her home,” she urged.
‘What may be a mild cold reaction for one child could be life-threatening for another.’
