Many of us look back to the time when our newborn baby first arrived as being one of the happiest times of our life. It seems as if we are so full of hope for the future and we want nothing but good for our family from that point forward. There is no doubt that Jeff and Natasha were also feeling similar when they found out that they were expecting a baby. They wanted to create a life for their family that would be unforgettable.
The sad thing is, Jeff and Natasha did not have the opportunity to have a life with their little baby girl. She was only three weeks old when she passed away, which as you can imagine, would be one of the most devastating things that a parent ever has to go through. When the doctors informed the parents why their daughter had died, it turned their grief into anger. They realized at that point that the death of their daughter was completely preventable.
It took Jeff some time before he was able to speak about the death of his daughter. When he was ready, however, he decided that he would go on Facebook and tell his story about what happened to his little girl. He didn’t do it to get sympathy, he wanted to help new parents and warn them of a possible danger that may be hiding right under their noses.
Jeff wrote this emotional message on Facebook:
“I’ve been pretty silent since Mallory’s death. It’s taken me over a month now to write this, but if any good can come from her passing and prevent someone else from experiencing the heartache, then I would be remiss not to make an effort.
If you have a new baby, or will be around a new baby, wash your hands. A lot.
If anyone wants to hold your baby, make sure they wash their hands first. Then make them do it again…
HSV-1, most commonly known as the virus behind cold sores, is a form of herpes (Herpes Simplex Virus-1). It is EXTREMELY common, and the World Health Organization estimates that 67% of all humans on Earth are infected. To make things worse, many people who are infected will never show symptoms in their lifetime and probably don’t even know they have it. For newborns, it is more than likely fatal, as was the case for Mallory.
You might think it should have been easy to diagnose. Surely someone with an oozing cold sore kissed her on the mouth, right? Mallory was never in contact with a person who had an active cold sore. Never. Nobody ever kissed her on the mouth. In spite of that, she caught HSV-1 within her first week of life and we had to watch her die slowly for nearly 2 weeks. Mallory could not keep her hands out of her mouth and eyes and she was constantly sucking on her fingers [see picture above]], so it’s almost certain that the virus got onto her hands at some point. It is possible to be contagious even without an active cold sore.
She had no symptoms beyond a high fever for most of the first week, and by the time blisters showed up it was probably too late for the antivirals to be effective. Considering that more than half the world has the cold sore virus, we don’t understand why so few infants die from the disease or why our beautiful daughter Mallory was the unlucky statistic, but that’s the way the world works I suppose.
Please, if you’re reading this, be extra diligent about washing your hands around newborns. Statistically speaking, you’re probably infected with HSV-1 whether you know it or not.”
Jeff brings out that anybody who handles a baby should wash their hands thoroughly before doing so. The HSV-1 virus is extremely common and carriers may not know that they can pass it on to others, even if they don’t have an active cold sore.
We hope that Jeff, Natasha, and their entire family find the peace that they need in life.