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Mum shares RSV warning after virus leaves newborn struggling to breathe

By Naomi White|

Y?ouTube star and influencer Brittani Boren Leach has urged parents to be aware of the symptoms of RSV, after her newborn son was admitted to hospital with the virus.

Respiratory syncytial virus is a common virus that presents with cold-like symptoms, and while mild for most healthy children and adults, can cause serious complications for infants and the elderly.

The 31-year-old mum of six shared how she her youngest son Cam caught the virus from his siblings at just five weeks old. Posting a video of her son struggling to breath, she warned other mums of how badly babies could be affected.

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A video posted to Instagram shows Cam struggling to breathe. (Instagram)

?After taking Cam to the emergency department, Boren-Leach said he was tested for the virus, but they were sent home. Admitting her anxiety was 'through the roof', when she felt his breathing was worsening the next day she returned, and was told he needed to be admitted.

"His older brothers were sick first, we had them tested at the doctor and were negative for strep, so just a virus they said," she explained in her story.

While Cam first had congestion and a 'small cough', on day three this suddenly worsened, especially at night. ?

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Boren Leach urged other parents to follow their instincts, after she was initially sent home from the ER. (Instagram)

"And then he started having chest retractions, which meant he was working hard to breathe," prompting her to take him to the ER.

"Most of all, trust your instincts," she urged her followers. "I felt crazy going back to another ER less than 24 hours after a doctor sent us home. The doctor there said he was very sick and was glad I brought him when I did."

In a reel documenting his recovery across his four night stay, she showed how Cam had needed oxygen to help his breathing.

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The five-week-old required oxygen to help his breathing. (Instagram)

"Headed home after four nights in the NICU with RSV. We are thanking God and our precious guardian angel that we get to take home a healthy boy," she said.

Many of her followers shared their own stories of their infants' struggles with the virus.

"My daughter has RSV last November where we spent a week in the hospital," said one, "it's so hard seeing them like this. So happy he is okay."

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After a few days in the hospital Cam had recovered enough to be sent home. (Instagram)

"I can recognise the concaving chest anywhere. My youngest son had the same. He wheezes when he coughs, he's had RSV too. It's really scary," shared another.

Boren Leach also described the event as 'triggering'. She and husband Jeff tragically lost their son Crew at just three months, after finding him unresponsive during a nap on Christmas Day, 2019.

"?Crew's tiny earthly body is still with us, although I know he's already dancing and playing in Heaven," she said at the time. "I keep thinking that I will wake up from this nightmare, but I don't."

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Boren Leach and her husband Jeff lost their son Crew at just three months old. (Instagram)

They also share sons Carter, Cooper, Cash and Cole, and Boren Leach is step-mum to Jeff's teenage daughter Sydney.

According to the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, most children will contract RSV by the age of three. It causes cold-like symptoms such as a runny nose, fever and sneezing, but can be severe in infants, particularly those aged under six months. It's spread through coughing and sneezing.

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