2023-11-17 18:43:00
Residents of Ghent, Amber and Tom are the happy parents of Lewis, a three-year-old boy. A month ago, the little family experienced happiness by expanding with the arrival of a little girl: Minthe. Born by cesarean section, Minthe experienced some complications during the first hours but nothing worrying. The day following her birth, she was allowed to return to her family.
But two weeks ago, everything changed. “During the night from Friday to Saturday, we rushed to the hospital,” Tom told Nieuwsblad journalists. “Minthe mightn’t evacuate her phlegm. She had a death rattle, it was on her lungs.”
After spending two days at St Lucas Hospital, the child was transferred to the intensive care unit of Ghent University Hospital. “She was put into an artificial coma and ventilated,” continues the father, looking worried. “Last Friday she was disconnected because she was doing well. But on Sunday she was intubated once more.”
Minthe is in fact prey to a respiratory infection, while viruses have been raging in the country in recent weeks. “There is an incredible amount of RSV virus in circulation,” confirms Elke Wollants, professor at the Rega Institute at KU Leuven. “A cold wave is sweeping the country and the respiratory syncytial virus is the main vector. In adults, the virus causes common colds, but newborns, whose respiratory tract is not yet mature, often suffer more.”
For almost two weeks, both parents have been living in the unknown. “Ignorance consumes us,” they confide. “Minthe didn’t cry at birth. This worries doctors. Is it because his vocal cords are affected by the virus? Or does it indicate something else? We have no prospects. We go to see Minthe every day.”
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