Hyrum child fighting for her life at Primary Children’s Hospital due to RSV

Xarina Gordon at 1-year's-old is at Primary Children’s Pediatric Intensive Care Unit and was placed on ECMO, a lung bypass machine and is fighting for her life from complications of RSV.

HYRUM – A critically ill Hyrum baby is fighting for her life at Primary Children’s Hospital and family members are seeking the public’s help for them during this difficult time.

The Dakotah Gordon Family of Hyrum was hit hard with RSV. Three of their children contracted RSV. Two of their children were hospitalized and one still in the Pediatric ICU at Primary Children’s Hospital.

Dakotah and Amber Gordon of Hyrum are having a rough December with three of their five children fighting Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), a common respiratory virus that became especially serious for their one- and three-year olds.

“The two youngest were hospitalized, three-year-old Xaiden was released after a two-night stay but continues to be on oxygen,” said Jessica Harwood, Amber’s sister. “Xarina, the 1-year-old, was quickly life-lighted to Primary Children’s Pediatric Intensive Care Unit and has been placed on ECMO, a lung bypass machine, and is fighting for her life.”

Christmas is on the horizon and their oldest child’s birthday was on Dec. 10 with little or no celebration. The Gordons wedding anniversary just passed on Dec. 12. The holidays are looking different for them this year.

Funds are dwindling due to being unable to work during this family crisis and medical bills will soon start rolling in,” Harwood said. “We have set up a GoFundMe account and raised some money, but we just want to get them the most money we can. Honestly, the medical bills are no joke.”

Mom is staying at the hospital 24/7 which is an hour and a half from home, while dad is trying to manage the other four kids at home.

“The doctors have done two bronchoscopy’s to remove more mucus,” Harwood said.” And multiple chest x-rays that are seeing improvement.”

They continue to decrease sedation and she is responding well to that but Xarina remains on ECMO, lung bypass, but they are trialing her off today.

“We are trying to create a Christmas miracle for this family and decrease some of the financial stress,” she said. “We have been trying to spread the word about them to get some support via prayers or finances, through a GofFundMe or Venmo.”

Intermountain Health Care recently reported RSV is peaking in most counties in the state. The virus starts out as a common cold that causes infection in the lungs and breathing passages. The infection can affect people of all ages, but in babies and young children, RSV is often more serious and may require treatment, especially if it causes bronchiolitis or another complication.

In Utah, RSV is most active in the winter and early spring. Epidemics generally occur yearly, usually between January and March.​ This year however virus seems to be peaking earlier.

RSV symptoms manifest itself as a common cold with coughing, stuffy or runny nose, fever, and other respiratory symptoms. Babies and young children with RSV may feed poorly or be fussy, inactive, or sleepy. Breathing problems including fast breathing, wheezing, or very difficult breathing can signal worsening illness.

Symptoms of RSV infection typically develop between three to seven days after being exposed to or infected with the virus. People infected with RSV are usually contagious for three to eight days, but young infants and people with compromised immune systems can be contagious for several weeks.​

RSV spreads easily to one person from another. A sick person’s cough or sneeze is generally the biggest contagion risk. But since the virus can live six hours on surfaces, anything that has been touched by the infected person (e.g., clothes, toys, utensils, furniture) can also transmit the virus.

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1 Comment

  • Marc K. Ensign December 14, 2021 at 7:40 am Reply

    Our little 6 month old grandson was just released from the hospital after having contracted bronchiolitis from an RSV infection. He is still on oxygen. I will help with the go fund me for this family, and encourage everyone else who can to donate as well. We can only imagine their struggle,

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