Girl Left With Brain Damage After Being Kissed On The Mouth As A Baby
A girl has been left brain-damaged after being kissed on the mouth as a baby.
Breelynn, who is now eight years old, was a happy and healthy infant but she would quickly become seriously ill.
Now, her mother is warning others so it doesn’t happen to another family.
People have taken to social media and shared their heartbreak over Breelynn’s story, with one writing: “Never kiss a baby on the mouth!!! In fact, don’t kiss a baby at all unless it’s yours.”
A second says: “I’m grateful that her family is raising awareness. Unfortunately so often when parents say no to kisses, they get treated like they’re overreacting or being dramatic – but they aren’t.”
“That’s heartbreaking,” another adds.
Breelynn’s story has been shared on the YouTube channel Special Books by Special Kids.
In the video, the child’s mother recalls: “She was born healthy. She was fine. And at two days old, somebody was so excited to see her that they kissed her on the mouth, and two weeks later she started having seizures.”
She adds: “When parents say not to kiss your children, this is one of the reasons for sure.”
The individual who kissed Breelynn had a cold sore at the time, which led to the infant being given HSV encephalitis.
The NHS explains: “Neonatal herpes is a herpes infection in a young baby. The younger the baby, the more vulnerable they are to the harmful effects of infection.
“Herpes can be very serious for a young baby, whose immune system will not have fully developed to fight off the virus.”
Neonatal herpes is caused by the herpes simplex virus, which is very common and causes cold sores and g**ital ulcers in adults.
Breelynn’s mother explains how the kiss led to a brain injury, continuing: “The infection got into her brain fluid and it attacked her brain. It attacked the left side of her brain mostly. It had just started moving over to the right side when we caught it.
“More or less, the encephalitis ate away at her brain tissue.”
Breelynn is unable to walk or talk – 60 per cent of the left side of her brain is impacted while the right is impacted 10 per cent.
Her mother says: “So having facial expressions, any kind of recognition skills from her is amazing in itself.”
The girl is ‘not expected to live into adulthood’, despite this, her mother has forgiven the person who kissed her on the mouth.
She says: “You know, it was an accident and they didn’t truly mean it.”
The NHS advises you to call 999 if your baby:
- lacks energy
- becomes floppy and unresponsive
- is difficult to wake up from sleep
- has breathing difficulties or starts grunting
- is breathing rapidly
- has a blue tongue and skin
The healthcare service adds: “Very often the baby will not have any specific herpes symptoms, such as a rash.
“But they can become unwell very quickly, so you need to act fast.”
Hear more about Breelynn’s story here.
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