On Super Bowl Sunday, my 3 week old son was admitted to the hospital due to RSV. His breathing and ability to eat quickly declined and was admitted to the PICU for 3 nights. It was the scariest moment of my family’s life. Thankfully, he is expected to make a full recovery and was discharged on Saturday.

Our son’s health has improved; however, he is still at risk for pneumonia and ear infections and has multiple doctors appointments this week to follow up on his health. We have been advised to make sure everyone around him has had the flu shot and to make sure everyone is washing their hands. My husband has gone through the house multiple times cleaning and trying to disinfect surfaces.

My MIL lives out of town and when she heard of the diagnosis, she offered to come stay and help us with our older son which was greatly appreciated. I told her today that due to his illness, I didn’t feel comfortable flying in a couple of weeks to visit her since he won’t be old enough for the flu vaccine and it is really bad this year. (Our doctors also advised us to skip the trip unless it is mandatory)

She disagreed with me and said that he should be fine to fly. (It would be a minimum of 2 flights and 7 hours of travel time.) She then asked if she could hold the baby and I said she could but if she could please wash her hands first if she hadn’t recently washed them. She looked at me and said that she raised her son (my husband) without him getting sick, and that she wasn’t going to pass anything onto my son. Then later in the day, she was leaving the house and right in front of me, kissed my (sick and recovering) son on the lips!!! I was shocked and didn’t say anything. How can people be so selfish and rude? Do I say anything to her now? Or to my husband?

She saw us at our lowest points last week and saw our son hooked up to oxygen and IV fluids and stuck in his PICU bed for 3 days. She saw how I was struggling that I wasn’t allowed to nurse him or hold him in my arms for 48 hours. How could she then kiss him on the lips???