The death of a 5-year-old Nashville boy who had the H1N1 virus has put parents on alert to look for the slightest signs that their child might be sick.
Max Gomez, who was a student at Henry Maxwell Elementary School in Antioch, became ill Friday and was admitted to Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt on Monday. He died the same day. The state testing lab confirmed Wednesday that the boy had the H1N1 virus.
An initial autopsy did not indicate other health problems, though results will not be final for another 60 days.
Ahmad had contracted the H1N1 influenza virus, which was further complicated by the fact he had asthma.
"He was very, very sick, on death's door," said Keith Kocis, a critical care pediatrician at UNC Hospitals who treated Ahmad. "We used extreme measures to keep him alive."
Kocis kept Ahmad unconscious and paralyzed throughout his 10 days in the ICU so that Ahmad wouldn't feel any pain or yank at the various tubes and needles in his body.
Slowly, Ahmad began to recover, and after 10 days in the ICU he was transferred to a regular room at the hospital for another three days. It was another three weeks of recovery at home after that before Ahmad was able to return to school.
A 13-year-old Seminole County girl has died of swine flu-related causes.
The county Health Department made the announcement Thursday morning.
"We wish to extend our deepest sympathies to the family. Our hearts go out to them in this difficult time. Where as cases of H1N1 swine flu are mild, there are exceptions like this tragic case," Mike Napier, Administrator of the Seminole County Health Department said.
A child in central Arkansas most is most likely the latest person to die from complications of the H1N1 virus, according to an official.
A 10-year-old girl from Alexander died at Arkansas Children's Hospital after testing positive for the virus, Pulaski County Coroner Garland L. Camper confirmed.
It was not known if the swine flu was the cause of her death or a contributing factor.
A Greenlee Elementary School teacher is fighting for her life. Lyndsey Davis has swine flu and is in critical condition.
"She's still in respiratory failure," said her brother, Eric Davis. "For two days last week her kidneys shut down, but they are improving now."
Davis apparently got tested for the flu twice when she started getting sick. Even as her condition worsened, the tests came back negative by the time she went to the emergency room with breathing problems. She had double pneumonia and confirmed swine flu.
An emotional day for family members of a four-year-old child who died mysteriously on from flu-like symptoms.
Elaina Redick, 4, was a student at Savannah Christian Preparatory School.
According to the school, Elaina began experiencing flu-like symptoms early Saturday morning. She was taken to Memorial Hospital where she died Sunday afternoon.
As soon as 6-year-old Heaven Wilson stepped off the school bus, her grandmother guessed that she wasn't feeling well.
Two days later, the Amelia County first-grader was rushed to CJW Medical Center (Chippenham), where she spent nearly two weeks before she died of swine flu late Wednesday.
Family members said Heaven was hooked up to breathing tubes when she mouthed her last words: "Don't let me die."
When Luke Duvall arrived at Arkansas Children's Hospital Oct. 7, he was critically ill, his left lung filled with fluid.
His father, Chad Duvall, told "60 Minutes," "He was panting like a dog, really fighting for his breath."
Doctors confirmed Luke had H1N1 and for reasons they don't fully understand, the virus attacked him with an intensity rarely seen in someone who was healthy.
Fourteen-year-old Lauren Merklein died Sunday in an Indianapolis, Indiana hospital. The South Barber High School freshman was there for a school trip when she collapsed in her hotel room Friday. She was taken to the hospital where she remained in critical condition the rest of the weekend.
"It just kind of came on all the sudden. She showed no symptoms of it," said School Superintendent Brad Morris.
While Merklein did have an existing heart condition, her sudden death is tragic for for her fellow classmates. With only 70 students in the school, everyone is really close. She was a cheerleader, member of the Future Farmers of America, in the band and vocals and was also on the Principal's honor roll.
A Morgantown High School student is dead after being hospitalized with the swine flu. The Dominion Post says 17-year-old Misty Cricks died yesterday afternoon at Ruby Memorial Hospital. Cricks starting showing symptoms about two weeks ago. She had been on a ventilator in the pediatric intensive care unit. An autopsy will be done to determine a cause of death. Cricks' mother says she was told the girl was brain dead.
Health officials have confirmed that a 6-year-old Yellowstone County boy has died of complications related to swine flu.
Dr. Fred Kahn, an infectious disease specialist with St. Vincent Healthcare in Billings, said during a news conference Friday the boy died about two weeks ago of pneumonia due to complications related to influenza A, a subtype of swine flu. The diagnosis was confirmed by the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services.
Kahn says the boy, who died in the pediatric intensive care unit at St. Vincent, was healthy and did not have any underlying health problems when he contracting the swine flu.
indigo girl
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Chapel Hill, North Carolina
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