DETROIT – An Eastpointe family shared their experience with the long-term effects of RSV.
Nicole Miele-Kerns said her son Noah was six weeks old when she began noticing the symptoms.
“I could like see his ribs contracting in and out, and I could hear the congestion and the wheezing,” said Miele-Kerns.
Miele-Kerns took Noah to the hospital, where he was diagnosed with the respiratory virus.
“Things kind of went downhill pretty fast,” Miele-Kerns said. “By day five, it had gotten real bad. They told me at the time that he had one of the worst pediatric cases that they had seen.”
Noah was discharged from the hospital after 11 days. However, the long-term complications like asthma and the effects of weakened lungs were just beginning.
“The next nine years of his life, he was hospitalized, two days here, three days here, five days there,” Miele-Kerns said. “He couldn’t go to parties. He couldn’t play outside. He couldn’t do anything that normal kids could do.”
Days before his ninth birthday, what started as flu symptoms morphed into encephalitis; Noah was in a coma for three months.
When he woke up, his vision was gone. He also struggled to walk and talk, abilities he’s working to regain in physical therapy.
“What can I say, I’m a miracle,” said Noah.
His mom is sharing this story to caution parents about the severity and potential long-term effects of RSV.
“I feel like not enough parents know how deadly it can be and how it can lead to other things,” Miele-Kerns said. “It’s not just about recovering from it. It’s about the rest of your life after that.”
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