The young mother claims her baby daughter picked up the respiratory syncytial virus from a friend’s baby and her ‘friend’ didn’t warned her that her baby was sick. Unfortunately, her child had a weaker immune system due to a rare genetic disorder and was rushed to intensive care a week later. While the 11-month-old baby laid on life support in the hospital, the young mother made the crushing decision to turn off the helpless baby’s life support. She is now urging parents not to kiss other people’s babies after her infant daughter died from a common virus she caught on a playdate.
The 20-year-old mother from North Dakota, Emily Lang, says that her 11-month-old daughter, Presley Meeks, caught the common RSV virus during a playdate. Unfortunately, Presley had a weaker immune system thanks to a rare genetic disorder and was rushed to intensive care a week later, the Mirror reports.
The mother said that after 2 days at the hospital, the baby’s heart stopped several times. While the 11-month-old baby laid on life support in the hospital, the young mother made the crushing decision to turn off the helpless baby’s life support.
Emily is now warning other parents not to touch people’s babies and keep their sick children inside. She reportedly shared the last photos of her daughter in a bid to warn other parents not to let their kids socialize if they’re ill.
Health officials said that most babies will contract the RSV virus before the age of two, but it can be serious for some children.
During an interview with the Mirror, the 20-year-old mother reportedly said: “It’s crazy how it can spread so fast all from kissing a baby. It has to be you being sick and you kissing or touching a baby. It’s mostly caused by kissing or touching babies when you’re sick.
My friend’s baby was playing with a lot of her toys and had them in her mouth. It was heart-breaking to turn off Presley’s life support but knowing I got to spend 11 months with her was great. You have to be very cautious. RSV is very bad for babies.
My message to people who kiss babies is to stay away. Even if you don’t think you’re sick, it’s not your baby. Be cautious. Don’t bring sick children to playdates or daycare, and no kissing or touching babies. Babies do get sick and it’s harder on their system. Try not to touch them as much as you love them.
According to Emily, when her baby daughter was born in November 2020, the child was rushed to intensive care and diagnosed with a disorder so rare they were unable to name it – which caused her to have immune deficiency.
Emily Lang also told the Mirror: “When she was born, she wasn’t breathing so they sent her straight to the NICU and then they noticed she had a rare, genetic disorder that caused her immune system to be very weak. We were unable to figure out Presley’s diagnosis. We did over 100 genetic tests and couldn’t find out what it was, but it was extremely rare they said.
Anytime she got sick she’d been sent to the hospital really fast and she was always intubated. She’d been sick three times before she got RSV but within two days, they said RSV can kick a baby’s butt. Presley never cried. She was very fussy in the evening before I brought her in to the A&E. She showed signs of heavy breathing in the chest and a slight fever which was probably the worst part of it.
Just because of her past, I knew she needed to go to hospital. If the chest is compressing, you need to go to the hospital right away. Presley got sent to a children’s hospital because I noticed she was acting fatigued. when she got there, she was not okay.
They decided they wanted to intubate her. Within two days, I woke up and they had to start bagging her because her heart had completely stopped. They had to use a balloon to keep her heart going and try to keep her going.”
Unfortunately, the doctors told the mother that they didn’t think the little girl was going to make it. They also told the mother that she had the choice whether to let her fight or pull the plug and just let her go because her baby was very ill.
The unfortunate mother said that she decided to let her go because she’d already fought so much in her life.
“There was no reason for her to keep suffering through all these illnesses and RSV was a bad one. It would have been a long recovery. Presley did get her organs donated because we let her off life support, so her organs were donated to another baby. She has saved another baby’s life. Sharing Presley’s story helps me a lot, trying to get the word out that this stuff is serious and it happens a lot.” the mother said.
Emily Lang also wrote on her social media account:
“This is RSV. This is why that “overprotective” mom asks you not to kiss her baby even though you “aren’t sick”. This is why she asks you not to touch her hands or face. This is why you leave strangers babies alone. Next time you feel entitled to touch or kiss a baby because you feel just fine, think about that sweet baby being held down by 4 people to place an IV in her head because she’s too dehydrated to find another vein. Think about her pitiful little squeaky cry because she’s hoarse from coughing so much. Think about her mom and dad and how scared and sad they are watching their baby go through it all. RSV can kill a baby! Poor Presley was one of them!”