Vinnie was born in December and had been home for just one week and two days when his mother, Tilly-Rose Murtha, noticed that he was breathing too fast and barely eating. She called an ambulance.
At the hospital, doctors diagnosed him with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which led to a chest infection, then pneumonia, and finally a collapsed lung. He also tested positive for enterovirus, which caused viral meningitis. On December 31, according to his mother, he stopped breathing for 16 seconds before suddenly breathing again. Doctors warned that if he did not improve within half an hour, he would need life support. He did not improve: they intubated him and placed him in an induced coma so his body could fight the infections.
He spent three months in hospital and was discharged on March 27, 2026. Today, he is doing well.
Tilly-Rose does not know how or when her son caught the virus. Even so, with RSV season approaching, she decided to share photos of Vinnie wearing an oxygen mask and surrounded by wires to make a simple request: that visitors not kiss newborns. According to the NHS, RSV is usually spread through coughing and sneezing, and can be serious in babies.
