A mother of five has issued an urgent warning about this year’s cold and flu season after a common virus landed her 21-month-old daughter in hospital.
Baby Matilda caught RSV from her four-year-old sister and if her parents had not been vigilant about her increasingly severe symptoms, it could have killed her.
The common virus showed up as usual in the cheeky little girl, according to her mother, Justine Ilarda.
She had a bit of a cough and a runny nose, but she kept running around the house, eating, drinking, and acting like she wasn’t sick.
Twelve days later she was rushed into surgery to drain fluid from her brain.
Speaking to FEMAIL, Justine said doctors warned her about the risks associated with putting a baby under general anaesthetic while they are sick.
But failure to do so could be far more devastating.
“There was a risk that he would get sepsis or meningitis or organ failure if we didn’t do it,” he recalled.
Justine Ilarda has revealed how her baby Matilda fell ill with RSV, a common virus
“We were terrified.”
Matilda began to deteriorate nine days after contracting the virus.
“She started holding her ear, complaining that it hurt,” said Justine, who rushed her daughter to the GP after hours.
She was told that although her ears were red, they were not infected, so she was quickly sent home.
The next day, the normally cheerful little girl held her head in her hands and screamed. She had a fever, so Justine decided to bypass the GP and head to the emergency room.
She had a bit of a cough and a runny nose, but she kept running around the house, eating, drinking, and acting like she wasn’t sick.
“The emergency doctor told us her ears were infected, but there’s not much you can do about ear infections as they’re usually always viral. He gave her Panadol and Nurofen and she perked up so he was happy to send her home,” he said.
But his boss intervened and gave the family antibiotics before they left.
They went straight home and began treatment. Justine assumed her baby would perk up within a few hours, but she didn’t. She was in excruciating pain and lethargic, so they rushed back to the hospital.
Doctors tested her and confirmed she had RSV like her older sister, but other tests caught their attention, so she was admitted and put on intravenous antibiotics.
“That same day, both of her eardrums were punctured. She was in a lot of pain. If she didn’t sleep, she would cry out in pain,” Justine said.
The ENT specialists were called in and after poking and palpating her, and her parents noticing that her ears were sticking out further than normal, they decided to do a CT scan.
He revealed that his infection had spread to the bone.
“They said the risk of meningitis was huge and I needed emergency surgery to remove as much of the infection as possible,” he said.
Justine has five daughters, ages 1 to 15, who rarely get 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 scariest days of my life,” she said.
“If your little one is sick, keep him or her home,” she urged.
“The doctors got the antibiotics wrong and they got them right. If they got the antibiotics wrong or we had waited another day to take her to the hospital, I can’t even imagine how scary that would have been.”
Justine said she shivered for four days while her baby was seriously ill.
“The day after the operation he looked us in the eye, smiled and asked for a banana. I could finally breathe again,” she said.
The mother is still breastfeeding Matilda and says it helped them get through the ordeal. It gave the little girl nutrients and comfort when she couldn’t eat and while doctors were poking and examining her.
“I’m very grateful that she got the proper treatment and is back to her old self,” she said, adding that this year’s viruses seem to be especially nasty.
“If your little one is sick, keep him or her home,” she urged.
“What may be mild cold-like symptoms for one child could be life-threatening for another.”