LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — An 18-month-old was released from the hospital Sunday, after she survived a battle against RSV, spending four days in Summerlin Hospital in Las Vegas. Her parents say it was their worst nightmare.
Lauren Taylor said the ordeal was one of the most difficult times she has faced as a parent, and she showed a video of her 18-month-old daughter, Kyra Taylor, on oxygen while she was fighting for her life trying to get over this respiratory illness.
"She had low oxygen, which they call hypoxia and fever, and they had to admit her right away," Taylor said.
The nightmare began about one week ago. Taylor said her daughter just got over the flu, but she noticed the troubled breathing continued one night, waking up at 4 a.m. to see her daughter's belly going up. She said she could hear the forced breathing and her ribs coming out.
Both Lauren and her husband, Jason Taylor, said that was enough for them to take their daughter to the emergency room, but when they arrived at Summerlin Hospital Thursday morning, there was a delay.
"About 24 hours were spent waiting just to get a room for her, and then other kids were coming in and waiting for rooms as well," he said.
Lauren Taylor said she was concerned they were too late and that her daughter could face serious health issues, maybe even death.
"They were aggressively trying to wake her up, bump her oxygen, increase requirements and they told me she was one of the most severe cases,” Taylor said.
She said the hospital was full, leaving her anxious to find care for her child as soon as possible. She says other sick children had already filled the available hospital beds, leaving Kyra waiting in the emergency room.
"The nurses were also running frantic. There is not enough of them, there is not enough of a health care team," Taylor said.
She says her daughter was finally given a pediatric bed 24 hours later after Kyra’s oxygen levels fell. Kyra spent four days in the hospital and was released this past Sunday.
A Summerlin Hospital spokesperson said in a statement, "The Children's Medical Center is continuing to care for record volumes of patients in both the pediatric ER and being admitted to our pediatric unit for RSV and other respiratory medical issues."
Still, Jason Taylor has a message for fellow parents; he says not to let the overcrowded conditions discourage you from taking a sick child to the hospital.
"When you start to see them struggling with their breathing, that's when you really want to start thinking about wanting to go in,” he said.
This article was written by Abel Garcia for KTNV.
