Shawn Johnson Details Son's 'Scary' Experience with RSV That Led to Hospitalization: 'He Couldn't Breathe' (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Shawn Johnson family.Photo:Shawn Johnson East

Shawn Johnson East

Shawn Johnson Eastis taking no chances in protecting her kids from Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) this winter season.

The former Olympic gymnast, 32, recently returned from herfamily trip to the 2024 Paris Olympics, where she says her kids — daughterDrew Hazel, 4, and sons Jett James, 2, and Barrett ‘Bear’ Madison, 10 months — “thrived.”

When returning to America, it was time for Johnson East to prepare for the dreaded winter virus season. In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, the athlete shares how she took a proactive approach to keeping her younger son Bear safe from contracting RSV following daughter Drew’s previous diagnosis and son Jett’s “scary” hospitalization with the virus.

“Jett was 6 months old. He woke up in the middle of the night. I could tell he was coming down with something, but up until that point, I hadn’t dealt with this before,” she tells PEOPLE. “He couldn’t breathe. It was scary and I ended up calling an ambulance for him.”

At the hospital, “It was confirmed that he had RSV and that was the first time I learned about it — how it can be really dangerous for kids under the age of 1,” she shares. “He responded to treatment beautifully, but at the time, any preventative care was for high-risk babies at birth.”

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Shawn Johnson kids.Shawn Johnson East

After talking to multiple doctors, Johnson East recalls, “Every single one of them was like, ‘This is a genius thing for your child given when they were born and their specific make-up and the history of my other kids.’ It was just a no-brainer for me.”

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Shawn Johnson and Bear Madison East.Shawn Johnson East

She continues, “As a new mom, you want to make sure you’re arming your kid with as much protection as they can get, but that’s specific and catered to them. So having your conversations with your pediatrician is very, very important.”

Going into this next winter season, Johnson East says, “I feel great.”

“I’m a huge advocate for my kids to be kids. I don’t try to quarantine them. We still go out and have fun. We still go to school and play dates and all these things,” she continues. “But it’s just about being smart, washing our hands, disinfecting, doing all as much as you can — even though they eat dirt,” she jokes.

source: people.com