A Riverside County mother said her infant son died from RSV despite all of her efforts to keep him safe from germs.
From constant handwashing to limiting exposure to others, Jessica Myers and her military husband did all they could to protect their son William, who was born six weeks premature, from RSV. Myers said she was especially vigilant after her doctor warned about the dangers of RSV weeks before William contracted it.
"My son died the day he was supposed to be born,” Myers said through tears. “My son left this world the day he was supposed to enter it. That kind of heartache — we lost the future with him. That's what hurts so bad. We lost his first steps. His first Christmas and his first words, and last, too. "
William is at least the second child under 5 years old in California to die from RSV. The state's first was confirmed Nov. 14.
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Myers used to live in San Diego but now lives in Cathedral City. She said she took William to the emergency room when she noticed he wasn’t breathing right and his nose was running.
"He wasn't breathing quite right, and he was developing a lot of mucus," she said.
When William tested positive for RSV, he was transferred to a Children’s Hospital in Orange County.
“They did as much as they could, they worked as hard as they could. They did bring him back, but they worked on him for so long that unfortunately my son was brain dead," she said, crying.
Myers said she doesn’t know where her son got the virus, but she's hoping her story can help prevent others from getting ill.
“Make sure no one's kissing the baby's face and make sure that nobody's touching your baby's face. Make sure they're not touching their hands or kissing their hands because that's how your child is going to get sick," Myers said.
It's a caring message from a mom hoping to help others now that she’s forced to hold onto memories instead of being able to cuddle with her son.
