NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) — A mom is warning other parents to continue handwashing and other preventative measures after her baby’s five-day hospital stay.

Amy Ruimerman was at the doctor’s office with her 7-month-old son when the doctor said that they were calling an ambulance to take Mikey to the emergency room.

For the next five days, Mikey needed a tube to eat and breathe.

“You couldn’t hold them normally without being intertwined with tubes, so it was very hard to watch and see,” Ruimerman said.

Mikey, who had a 102-degree fever, was diagnosed with the respiratory syncytial virus, better known as RSV. He was released Sunday.

Respiratory illnesses have swept 28 states, filling pediatric intensive care units to the point that Connecticut facilities have considered calling in the National Guard to help.

At Yale New Haven Hospital, where Mikey stayed, doctors are concerned about what will happen as RSV cases continue to climb right as flu season hits. The hospital’s pediatric ICU is seeing the highest number of RSV cases in its history.

“It’s certainly a concerning trend,” said Dr. Scott Roberts with Yale New Haven Hospital. “Cases are going up. We have not had to create any additional bed space for now, but we have pulled in extra doctors and nurses. I think the biggest thing is we’re just concerned where this is going to end.”

Roberts said the difference between COVID-19, the flu, and RSV is that patients with RSV breathe faster. In more serious cases, infants with the virus can develop deep pneumonia and appear blue.