Wessington Springs, SD – The beginning of the 2022 holiday season brought an unexpected rural healthcare and holiday health emergency for the Schelske family, but thanks to local, compassionate care, they received a gift more precious than any under the tree—their child’s health.
The Schelske’s typically smiling, happy-go-lucky daughter Henley had suffered from a running nose through the cold months of late fall, especially when she was teething. Her sunny disposition hadn’t changed, and she wasn’t running a fever, even with her sinus issues.
It was a good thing she did.
“I was thinking she had a sinus infection,” Marissa said.
Henley woke up from her afternoon nap at daycare coughing more than normal. Her mom, Marissa, is a dental hygienist with Jerauld County Dental Clinic in Wessington Springs. One of her patients canceled their appointment, so she decided to take her little girl to see Dr. Terry Weaver at Horizon Health. After examining Henley he was concerned with her breathing, Marissa said.
The RSV test they ran on Henley came back positive. RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, is a common respiratory virus that usually causes mild, cold-like symptoms, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It takes most people a week or two to feel better, but RSV can seriously affect young children and the elderly. Henley’s case turned out to be more serious than typical RSV.
Her positive RSV diagnosis launched the family into a regimen of testing and procedures that included a nebulizer treatment and a chest X-Ray.
“Annie, the nurse, did a wonderful job with the nebulizer treatment,” Marissa said. “Since Henley is so little and had never had a nebulizer treatment done, she was less than cooperative so it was more difficult to complete.”
The X-Ray showed RSV-pneumonia in her left lower lung. Another nebulizer treatment was completed before they left the office that evening. Dr Weaver wanted to see Henley at 7:30am the next morning. When they returned to the health center, her oxygen levels had dropped to the 80s. Normal levels are above 95. This caused a great deal of concern from Dr Weaver. He wanted Henley admitted to the hospital for observation in case her condition worsened, Marissa said. If it did, he was prepared to fly her to Sioux Falls for further treatment.
The family got lucky and Henley’s oxygen levels increased to the point where Dr. Weaver was satisfied with her progress and let her recover in Wessington Springs.
“I was very thankful for Dr Weaver and his team for the compassion that they showed for my daughter,” Marissa said.
The experience she and Henley had with her local health center reaffirmed her love of the small community that rallied around her family to support them while Henley went through the holiday health emergency.
“I appreciate everything that they did for us and am glad that Henley received the utmost care possible in our small community clinic,” Marissa said.