Children's hospitals are struggling to cope with a surge of respiratory illness

Caitlyn Houston kisses her seven-week-old daughter, Parker, as they wait in the ER for a hospital bed to open up on Dec. 7 at Corewell Health Helen DeVos Children's Hospital in Grand Rapids, Michigan. "There's so many kids in here that they have to take the ones that are really bad," Houston said. (Lester Graham/Michigan Radio)

Waiting for their turn in the ER, dazed-looking parents in winter coats bounce crying children in their arms, trying to catch the eye of Dr. Erica Michiels. Us! Pick us next! they seem to plead with tired eyes.

Michiels directs pediatric emergency medicine at Corewell Health Helen DeVos Children's Hospital in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Lips pressed together in a thin line, she surveys what she calls the "disaster" area.