5-year-old home after being hospitalized with Enterovirus 68

A Colorado family is relieved to have their 5-year-old home from the hospital, after being diagnosed with a rare virus.

Ashley Viens Harris said last Wednesday, her daughter Hailey came home from school with a slight cough and very tired. The next day, the five-year-old said she hadn’t slept well and still didn’t feel well. Later that morning, she fainted. Viens Harris called 911, and Hailey was rushed to the hospital. Ten to 15 minutes later, she couldn’t breathe on her own, Viens Harris said.

“I didn’t know what was making her not breathe,” she said. “She was pale as a ghost, her lips were blue, she looked horrible.”

After 24 hours in the hospital, doctors told her Hailey had Enterovirus 68. Viens Harris was surprised.

“She was perfectly healthy, not a single thing wrong with her,” she said. “She’s never had anything, not even an ear infection in her entire life. So we had no warning whatsoever.”

Hailey is home from the hospital. She’s taking time off from school.

“I do like it, because I get to have a break with my family,” she said.

The ordeal was a lesson for mother and daughter.

“I thought I was overreacting, because I was calling 911, because my daughter had a cold, but it turns out, she really needed 911,” Viens Harris said. “Even if you think it’s a mild cold, every mother knows best. Go with your gut instinct.”

“I really really need to take care of myself, clean up everywhere, get sanitizer, wash my hands, everything,” Hailey said.

Viens Harris has a one-year-old son who also had a cold, but his case wasn’t severe and he didn’t need to be hospitalized.