YouTube star Brittani Boren Leach shared a distressing video of her five-week-old son struggling to breathe before he was hospitalized for a respiratory virus, saying it was ‘extremely triggering’ after the death of her baby boy Crew nearly three years ago.
The 31-year-old’s newborn, Cam, spent four nights in the neonatal intensive care unit at the Children’s Hospital of San Antonio after being diagnosed with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which can cause serious complications for infants.
Boren Leach documented her son’s battle with the virus in a series of Instagram Stories after taking him to the emergency room last week.
Brittani Boren Leach’s newborn son, Cam, was diagnosed with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) last week and was admitted to the Children’s Hospital of San Antonio
The YouTube star documented her five-week-old baby’s battle with the virus in a series of Instagram Stories, explaining that his older brothers were sick first
‘His older brothers were sick first,’ she explained. ‘We had them tested at the [doctor’s] and were negative for strep, so just a virus they said.’
The mom noted that older kids aren’t usually tested for RSV because ‘they can fight it off’ without any further complications.
For many children, RSV causes mild cold symptoms, but it is the most common cause of bronchiolitis and pneumonia in children younger than one year of age in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
‘We tried to keep Cam away from them as much as possible, but with RSV, it’s very contagious and sometimes inevitable,’ she said.
Boren Leach detailed her baby boy’s symptoms as a warning to other parents, saying Cam developed ‘congestion and a small cough’ on Sunday, October 9.
Boren Leach said she and her husband, Jeff Leach, took Cam to the ER last Thursday after noticing his chest retractions, a sign of labored breathing, but he was sent home
The influencer posted a video of her son’s chest sinking in as he tried to breathe to show other parents what chest retractions look like
Boren Leach said she took Cam to the Children’s Hospital of San Antonio for a second opinion less than 24 hours later, and he was immediately admitted
Three days later, she noticed that his coughing was getting worse and he was having chest retractions — a sign that he was having difficulty breathing.
She posted a video of her son’s chest sinking in as he tried to bring more air into his lungs to show other parents what the retractions look like.
‘If you see chest retractions, take them to the ER,’ she warned.
Boren Leach said she and her husband, Jeff Leach, had to wait in the ER for three hours before their baby boy was seen last Thursday. After a five-minute meeting with the doctor, Cam was diagnosed with RSV and sent home to her surprise.
‘It didn’t feel right, but I thought maybe I was just paranoid,’ she recalled.
Boren Leach noted that ‘RSV peaks around day 4-5.’ She said Cam was on his fourth day with the virus when they first went to the ER and should not have been sent home in his condition
The mom said her baby boy was given oxygen, IV fluids, and milk through a feeding tube ‘because he couldn’t eat and breathe and was becoming dehydrated’
Boren Leach encouraged other parents to trust their instincts after her son’s health scare
The influencer explained that ‘RSV peaks around day 4-5’ and ‘doesn’t usually present with a fever.’ She said Cam was on his fourth day with the virus and should not have been sent home in his condition.
Boren Leach posted a video of Cam’s labored breathing as he slept on her chest during their first trip to the ER.
‘You can hear cackles. This really infuriates me,’ she wrote in the on-screen text.
She explained that she used to be a pediatric nurse, and she still questioned if she should trust her gut or listen to the doctor who turned them away.
‘I can easily see how someone would stay home and this quickly develops into pneumonia or worse.’
Boren Leach shared regular updates about Cam’s oxygen levels in the hospital
Cam’s respiratory rate was an alarming 70 to 80 breaths per minute when he was first admitted to the hospital
Boren Leach said the experience was ‘extremely triggering’ after her son Crew’s death nearly three years ago
Boren Leach said they ended up taking Cam to the ER at Children’s Hospital of San Antonio for a second opinion, and he was immediately admitted.
She shared a photo of him in her arms, hooked up to oxygen, writing, ‘On one hand, I am relieved he is in good hands now, and I trusted my instinct. On the other, I am upset with yesterday’s care.’
Cam’s oxygen saturation was in the low 90s at the time, which is normal for infants, but his respiratory rate was an alarming 70 to 80 breaths per minute.
A newborn’s respiratory rate is typically 30 to 60 beats per minute, according to a paper published by Pediatrics in Review.
‘Trust your instincts,’ she said. ‘I felt crazy going back to another ER less than 24 hours after a [doctor] sent us home. The doctor there said he was very sick and was glad I brought him when I did. Then I was angry we had been sent home less than 24 hours before.’
Boren Leach’s son spent four nights in the neonatal intensive care unit, and she shared a photo of Cam looking happy right before they went home
Boren Leach also shared a compilation video of Cam’s hospital stay, saying they are ‘thanking God’ and their ‘precious guardian Angel’ Crew that they ‘get to take home a healthy boy’
She posted another photo of herself holding Cam in the hospital while opening up about her concern for her baby boy.
‘My face probably says enough, but all of this has been extremely triggering for me,’ she shared. ‘I typically don’t use that word, but I don’t know how else to describe it.’
Boran Leach and her husband lost their son Crew when he was three months old. The baby boy was found not breathing at a relative’s house on Christmas Day in 2019 after being put down for a nap.
Crew was eventually resuscitated, but ended up brain dead, leaving them with the difficult choice of turning off his life support and donating his organs.
The couple welcomed their son Cole in November 2020, 10 months after Crew’s death. The mom called him a rainbow baby, a term used to describe a child born after a miscarriage, stillbirth, or infant death.
Boren Leach’s three-month-old son Crew died in late December 2019 after being found unresponsive on Christmas Day
The mom welcomed Cam on September 8, nearly three years after Crew’s death
Boren Leach and her husband are also parents to sons Cooper and Cash, as well as her son Carter and his daughter Sydney from their previous relationships
Nearly two years later, she gave birth to Cam on September 8.
Boren Leach and her husband are also parents to sons Cooper and Cash, as well as her son Carter and his daughter Sydney from their previous relationships.
The mom answered questions about Cam’s bout with RSV in her Instagram Stories, explaining there isn’t any medication to treat it because it’s a virus.
She said her baby boy was given oxygen, IV fluids, and milk through a feeding tube ‘because he couldn’t eat and breathe and was becoming dehydrated.’
On Tuesday, she posted a photo of herself propping Cam up on a hospital bed before he was discharged after his four-night stay in the NICU.
‘Look how happy he is because we are going HOME,’ she wrote in the caption.
Boren Leach also shared a compilation video of Cam’s hospital stay, saying they are ‘thanking God’ and their ‘precious guardian Angel’ Crew that they ‘get to take home a healthy boy.’
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