Lakewood 4-year-old falls ill with RSV, then loses grandmother to same virus

LAKEWOOD, Ohio (WOIO) - In September, Sheari Connor’s 8-year-old son came home with what she thought was a cold.

Until days later, when her 4-year-old Tate shared the same symptoms.

“[He] was running a fever, and he too was becoming congested,” Connor said.

Not even 24 hours later, Tate started to have trouble breathing and Connor took him to the doctor.

That trip was cut short when the doctor insisted Tate be taken to the hospital.

“During our ride, the test results had come back from Tate’s nasal swab, and Tate was RSV positive,” Connor said.

Tate was taken to UH Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital, where dozens of other children were trying to fight RSV as well.

He spent 13 days in ICU and on the last day, his family suffered a major loss.

“In the process, everybody in the home caught RSV. And on the final day of the ICU, my mother passed because she too contracted RSV,” Connor said.

The toll RSV has had on this family is one they will never forget.

“We never expected to suffer a loss. We never expected one day here, and the next day gone,” said Connor.

Today, Tate runs around the house feeling healthy, and better than ever.

But Connor wants to remind all parents to keep their eyes open, and think twice before letting common cold symptoms go unnoticed.

“I want everybody to understand that this virus can be life changing in a matter of hours,” Connor said.

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