Learn About Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV)

Rocky (00:08):
Hi, my name is Rocky.

Tristan (00:09):
I'm Tristan, and our twin sons are Alexander and Diego. The first time we experienced RSV in our family was when Alexander was a little over a year old.

Rocky (00:19):
Alex was gasping forever, like he was drowning in a pool. That's when we, Tristan and I, realized this is something serious that we need to rush him to the hospital. I think we both felt scared at that time because we've never experienced anything like this and we didn't realize what was going on.

Tristan (00:37):
RSV was something we had heard about, but I don't think until you actually experience it, you can really be prepared for exactly how dramatic of a change your kids can go through in a very short period of time. One of the things I think that we were so shocked about RSV is how quickly it became sort of a medical emergency. I think I felt like, what did I do wrong as a parent? What did I miss? What should I have done differently to not get to this point so quickly? And that was a very scary part of RSV and something I was not prepared for.

Rocky (01:14):
The first time that Alex was admitted to the hospital for RSV, we spent about little over a day there.

Tristan (01:20):
Diego then came down with RSV, and that time he also, a few days after getting RSV, he then was diagnosed with pneumonia. And then after that, Diego was in the hospital again with RSV. And then several months later, Alex was in the hospital again with RSV. Each time we were in the hospital with RSV, we knew that, okay, a few days later, the other one will have it.

Rocky (01:47):
The advice I would have for new parents when it comes to RSV, one is trust your instinct when it comes to your child. Be an advocate for them. That's what we did. Two is be aware of where the child sleeps at night when they're sick. Stay close to them. And three, for us, be aware of where the closest hospital is, especially when you're traveling.

Tristan (02:08):
Like Rocky said, be an advocate for your kids, but really push. Try to find a doctor that listens to you. Try to find a doctor that can help you to figure out what do we do and how do we get the best treatment? And how do we know how to best sort of deal with RSV when it happens? Because it's not a matter of if it's going to happen, it's a matter of what it's going to be like when it happens. So as a parent, I wish I would've known more about RSV.

Rocky (02:37):
Again, as Tristan just stated, please contact your pediatrician and ask any questions you may have because it could escalate pretty rapidly.

Tristan (02:46):
Today, the twins are doing great. They are healthy, happy five year old boys that like to play soccer, like to play with toys, that don't like to eat vegetables, and love to play with our friends. So we're very lucky now that we were able to find such great advocates to help us out through the challenges of RSV during the first few years of their lives.

Support for this educational campaign is provided by Sanofi. Learn more at Lung.org/rsv.

Nearly 100% of children will be infected with Respiratory Syncytial Virus by age 2. Symptoms can be like a common cold. However, it can be life threatening. Trouble breathing or dehydration are signs of severe illness. RSV is the leading cause of hospitalization of all infants. Contact your healthcare provider if symptoms worsen. Visit lung.org slash rsv to learn more.