‘She’s fighting for her life’: Baby girl hospitalized with RSV

By Alexandra Stone

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    OMAHA, NE (KETV) — In a picture captured right after Maleah Marples was born last month, the little girl sleeps sweetly in her hospital bassinet.

Now, just weeks after her birth, Maleah’s dad said his newborn is back in the hospital, with RSV.

“She’s fighting for her life,” Michael Marples said.

Michael said Maleah started getting sick when she was under two weeks old.

The family took her to see doctors in Beatrice, where they live. Michael said it was there Maleah was diagnosed with RSV.

“It seemed like she kept getting worse,” he said.

Michael said they made several more visits to local doctors, then late last week, the family ended up in an ambulance, headed for Omaha.

“Next thing we know, they’re saying ‘oh we’re gonna transfer you somewhere else,'” Michael said. “Her heart is stopping at that time, it kept stopping every 15 minutes. By the time we got her here, it was stopping every five minutes.”

Michael said it was difficult to find an available bed for his daughter.

“They said everything was booked up because of RSV. They said everybody was jam-packed,” he said.

Both Children’s Hospital and Medical Center and Boys Town National Research Hospital said they’ve seen increasing numbers of RSV cases.

Between that and COVID-19, metro hospitals said last week there was some concern about capacity and stressed the importance of mask-wearing for young people.

Little Maleah has since been receiving care at Boys Town.

Michael and his wife take turns; one sitting with their young son in the parking lot and the other inside the hospital.

“It’s hard. It’s really hard,” Michael said. “Sometimes I can’t go in there because I don’t want to see her like that.”

Now, having seen firsthand the devastating effects of RSV, Michael is pleading with other families to understand how serious the illness can be and take steps to keep everyone healthy.

“You know, if your kids are sick, stay home,” Marples said. “Because this stuff ain’t a joke, it’s not.”

Between gas, food, and overnight accommodations, the Marples said the costs are adding up.

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