INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — RSV is a common illness among infants. According to experts, 80% of babies catch it within their first year of life. For some, it can be serious and require hospitalization.

18-month-old Hannah and her twin brother Nolan are full of smiles and energy, but Oct. 2022 was a different story.

“That was the worst week of my life,” said Kym Lyell, mother of the twins.

Kym Lyell’s babies both caught RSV at just seven months old. Hannah ended up in the hospital.

“There were certain point in times where it was like, ‘are we going to lose her?’” said Kym.

Kym feared her daughter would end up on a ventilator. Instead, doctors used a special tool they call the ‘turtle shell.’

“Instead of pushing air into your lungs, it actually draws the chest upwards with negative pressure. It creates a vacuum around the chest and it pulls the chest, and then that brings air into the lungs,” said Dr. Christopher Belcher, medical director of pediatric infectious disease at Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital.

Hannah was in the hospital for a week before finally turning a corner. Belcher says RSV overwhelmed children’s hospitals in 2022. It hit earlier and worse than expected. This year, new vaccines could help, including one for babies entering their first RSV season.

“This is not an active vaccine. These are premade antibodies. Just like mom transferring antibodies into the baby, this is an injection of antibodies that will hang around the baby for at least the five months that the season is expected to last,” said Belcher.

Kym’s message to others: take RSV seriously.

“You hear of this, of different sicknesses, and you never think it’s going to actually affect you,” said Kym.

This story was created from a script aired on WISH-TV. Health Spotlight is presented by Community Health Network.