Karl Stefanovic and wife Jasmine reveal their daughter Harper’s health struggles after rushing her to hospital for ‘struggling to breathe’
Karl Stefanovic and his wife Jasmine have revealed the health struggles of their three-year-old daughter Harper.
The couple rushed Harper to hospital last year because she was having trouble breathing and she was being treated for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).
Jasmine admitted in a press release this week, “The first time Karl and I heard the letters RSV was when Harper was in the hospital struggling to breathe.”
“Initially, Harper was sniffling and coughing, and we assumed she just had a bit of a cold.”
‘But within hours she deteriorated; it was unsettling to see how hard she was trying to breathe, her little ribs sucking in and pulling her belly up into her chest.’
Karl Stefanovic and his wife Jasmine have revealed their three-year-old daughter Harper’s health struggles after rushing her to hospital because she was “struggling to breathe.” (all pictured)
Karl added, “While Harper battled the infection, we are concerned about the impact of RSV on her long-term health.”
Karl previously spoke about the terrifying experience on last year’s Today show, revealing how Harper had “snotty and a little cough,” which led to him and Jasmine taking her to the GP.
But her condition soon deteriorated, her temperature reached a dangerous 40C and her heart rate accelerated to 200 beats per minute.
The couple rushed Harper to hospital last year because she was having trouble breathing and she was being treated for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).
She was then taken to hospital by ambulance and diagnosed with RSV, which is common in children during the winter months.
“Two days ago my daughter Harper had what she has had so many times this year, a sniffle and a little cough,” Karl told viewers at the time.
‘Within a few hours we gave her Nurofen and Panadol as advised and put her to sleep.
“Initially, Harper was sniffling and coughing, and we assumed she just had a bit of a cold. But within hours she deteriorated; it was unsettling to see how hard she was working to breathe, with her little ribs sucking in and her belly pulling in to her chest,” Jasmine explained
“When she woke up, she was breathing really fast, wheezing, and her heart rate and temperature were through the roof.”
RSV – respiratory syncytial virus – is a major cause of lung infections in children and can lead to pneumonia or bronchiolitis, which is especially dangerous in young infants.
Severe cases can kill babies and toddlers whose small airways are not yet fully formed and who struggle to cope with the infection.
Worldwide, nearly 120,000 children under the age of five die from the disease each year.
Karl previously spoke about the terrifying experience on the Today show last year, revealing how Harper was ‘sniffling and had a little cough’, which led to him and Jasmine taking her to the GP