Steve Charnock
Published November 28, 2025 11:17am
Updated November 28, 2025 11:17am
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Mum Destiny Smith had never imagined that a family dinner gathering at Thanksgiving would mark the moment her two year-old daughter would begin a frightening journey that would leave doctors unsure whether she would survive. Friends and relatives had been happily hugging and kissing the toddler in the days beforehand, a habit Destiny had always allowed and welcomed without a second thought. Until then she had only known RSV as something that troubled very young babies or the elderly, not an infection that could push a toddler into severe respiratory illness. (Pictures: Destiny Smith/SWNS)
The first warning signs appeared around Thanksgiving 2024 when Destiny's daughter started to sniffle and come down with what looked like a routine seasonal illness. Destiny, from Lake County, Florida, watched her carefully, aware something wasn't quite right, yet unable to place specifically what it was that was wrong. As the hours passed by, her daughter’s breathing changed and her chest began to move in a way that made Destiny’s concern. Her partner Tristan, 27, also sensed that this was no ordinary virus. Together they decided the safest option was to take her straight to hospital for assessment. (Picture: Destiny Smith/SWNS)
Hospital staff quickly admitted the little girl overnight and diagnosed respiratory syncytial virus, a common respiratory infection that can cause bronchitis or pneumonia. Though doctors had initially hoped that monitoring and treatment would stabilise her, Destiny sensed the situation shifting in a way that felt increasingly ominous. She said that the little girl's breathing pattern looked strange in a way she'd never seen before. (Picture: Destiny Smith/SWNS)
On her second day in hospital, the toddler weakened significantly, leaving both parents terrified as they watched her oxygen levels fall - despite ongoing care. Destiny recalled how rapidly the condition escalated, with medical teams administering breathing treatments every two hours yet still struggling to keep her stable. She said: ‘Throughout the night, she got really, really bad.’ By that point doctors agreed that she needed specialist care and prepared the child for an emergency transfer. (Picture: Destiny Smith/SWNS)
Soon, the youngster was airlifted to the paediatric ICU, a step that confirmed just how serious the infection had become. Destiny said, ‘After two days, they life-flighted her to the PICU, they were giving her breathing treatments every two hours, her oxygen levels kept going down and down.’ She added: ‘One minute she’d be okay, and the next she wouldn’t, it was very, very scary.’ (Picture: Destiny Smith/SWNS)
The mum said: ‘The doctors weren’t sure whether it would take a turn for the worse, or if it would get better, it was just horrible. It was probably the most terrifying thing I’d ever been through, not knowing whether my child was going to survive the night, or if I would have to plan a funeral. My boyfriend and I stayed with her from the day she got admitted to the very end. It scared the life out of us.’ (Picture: Destiny Smith/SWNS)
After eight days of treatment, five of them in intensive care, their daughter finally began to recover. Doctors allowed Destiny to take her home with an inhaler that had to be used every four hours for three weeks. She was later sent to a specialist to rule out underlying health issues but no cause was found. Destiny said: ‘They couldn’t find anything, it was just something that happened out of the blue.’ (Picture: Destiny Smith/SWNS)
In the year since, Destiny's been forced to reconsider every casual kiss, every friendly cuddle and every hand placed on her child’s face by well-meaning relatives. She said relatives had been kissing and handling her daughter in the days before she fell ill, something she had never worried about before. She said: ‘We’d had her out and about with family members, and people love giving kisses to babies. People were putting their hands on my child, and they might not have washed them.’ Her message now is simple. ‘I always tell people to be careful with letting people who aren’t in their immediate family hug and kiss them, because their kid could be next. I think this is something really important to raise awareness of I had no idea it could get so bad that kids end up in the ICU. I just want other parents to know how quickly it can get serious. Please trust your gut and get them checked if something feels off.’ (Picture: Destiny Smith/SWNS)
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