A Gilbert family reached out to ABC15, hoping to bring attention to the medical staff they said saved their son.
It was two months ago when 1-year-old Tristan was admitted to the PICU with RSV and placed on a ventilator.
“We were kind of trying to hold off and she’s like… ‘I just, I don’t want it to be too late because that happens and that can be more an emergency situation.’ And so, that’s why it was the right choice,” said Sharee James, Tristan’s mother.
According to Maricopa County Public Health, the most recent week from this RSV season shows 568 confirmed cases. That is much higher than this same time last year, which was 143 cases. The county has already seen more than 7,100 total RSV cases so far this season.
Tristan’s parents saw first-hand how critical this virus can be and said there were many RSV patients at Banner Children’s at Desert in Mesa.
“It just kind of sparked my thoughts when she said, ‘We never get to see the babies before or after, you know, they leave here. We only get to see them while they’re sick.’ And right then and there, I was like… they’ve been doing such an amazing job and I know this has to be hard. So, I wanted to do something,” said James.