My Baby Contracted RSV – A Parent’s Nightmare (with a Happy Ending) | With New Dad Tim Lewis

This week we’re happy to welcome Tim Lewis to the studio, a first-time dad to a four-month-old. Join us as Tim shares the scary story of when baby Ophelia got sick with RSV around the end of last year. After initially going to Mercy in Springfield, doctors later needed to airlift Ophelia to an ER in Kansas City. Tim also provides his wisdom for new parents and discusses the importance of being on the same page to work collaboratively with your partner. 

Our Guest: Tim Lewis 

Tim Lewis is a barber by occupation and is a new dad to Ophelia, who was born in September 2023. Tim, his wife, Chelsea, Ophelia and Boone the dog live in Rogersville, MO. For a long time, Tim and Chelsea never imagined wanting kids, but their attitudes changed in their early 40s.

  • (4:28) My advice to younger people is: If you’re not sure, enjoy your youth a little bit. Your freedom is minimized once you have a child.
  • (6:10) She developed a little bit of a cough, and we just kept an eye on it. And then it was, like, ‘Nah, she needs to go do the doctor.’ And they basically test kids just like they do for COVID. It’s a pretty quick little swab.
  • (9:33) I wasn’t afraid for her life—I really felt she would be okay—but when the flight nurses came in and basically strapped my 13-pound child to a gurney-looking thing and took her away … Which, my wife was with her, but, you know, it was just terrifying.
  • (17:55) She’s always a pretty happy kid. She really started all that at about three months. But she’s also a very impatient, cranky child … How do you go from grinning at me, and two seconds later you’re squalling?!