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Boy, 10, is third Kalamazoo County resident to die of H1N1
By Paula M. Davis | Kalamazoo Gazette
November 06, 2009, 10:15PM
Kamren Blakely, 10, is believed to have died from H1N1 flu.
KALAMAZOO ? Kalamazoo County has its first confirmed case of a child?s death related to the H1N1 flu virus, according to the Kalamazoo County Health and Community Services Department.
Ten-year-old Kamren David Blakely, of Kalamazoo, died Wednesday, less than two weeks after falling ill with a cough and chest congestion.
His mother, Donna Blakely, said that although Kamren had bipolar disorder, he had no other health problems. Blakely said the course of her son?s illness ?was very, very quick.?
His was the third confirmed death of a county resident related to the H1N1 influenza virus, according to the county health department. The other two H1N1-related deaths of Kalamazoo County residents involved a woman in her late 20s who died at her home on Oct. 20 and a person in his or her 40s who died Oct. 22. Allegan County resident Erica Lynn Mitchell, 29, of Otsego, died Wednesday at Bronson Methodist Hospital.
Since the beginning of September, 48 Kalamazoo County residents have been hospitalized with flulike symptoms, and the likelihood is that all were cases of H1N1, said Annie Wendt, epidemiologist for the county health department. Not all of them were confirmed as H1N1, but Wendt said ?that is still the predominant circulating strain.?
Blakely said doctors told her Kamren?s death was due to complications from the H1N1 virus. She said that during his illness he developed a bacterial infection that started in the lungs and invaded other systems of his body.
Blakely first took a congested Kamren to the emergency room on Oct. 25 when he was running a 104-degree fever. They left with medication and a diagnosis of bronchitis.
She said Kamren was doing well by the following Tuesday, Oct. 27, but the next day he again was running a high fever ? and this time his 20-month-old sister was, too.
Blakely said they went back to the pediatrician Wednesday and were advised that Kamren likely had H1N1. She received instructions for treatment and was told to return if he wasn?t better by Friday.
On Friday, Oct. 30, she took him to the hospital. Blakely said a chest X-ray showed that Kamren had double pneumonia; doctors admitted the boy and inserted a breathing tube into his body.
?I heard him cry one time Friday, and that?s the last time I heard a noise out of him,? the mother said.
In the days that followed, Blakely said, there was a valiant fight for Kamren?s life as his blood pressure dropped, his blood wouldn?t clot properly, his kidneys failed and he experienced cardiac arrest.
On Wednesday, after Kamren was flown to the University of Michigan?s Mott Children?s Hospital, in Ann Arbor, he went into cardiac arrest a third time and a scan showed he was brain-dead, Blakely said.
?I saw my son and made the hardest decision of my life,? Blakely said.
?He was being kept alive basically on life support. I made the decision that when my father arrived from Kalamazoo, I would shut the machine off. My father arrived at about 12:30 p.m. I shut his machine off. Within a minute, he was gone,? she said.
The mother said her message to other parents is to be vigilant with doctors about getting their children tested and treated if the virus is suspected.
?Take it very, very seriously,? she said.
Favorite pastimes
Blakely described her son as an outgoing youth who was all boy. Stunts on his BMX bike, learning Frisbee golf and gliding on a skateboard he got in August for his birthday were among his favorite pastimes.
Recalling his birthday, Blakely said, ?He was so happy. He got exactly everything he wanted. His excitement in his eyes was just amazing,? she said.
This past year Kamren was placed at Valley Center School, a school for children with emotional impairments. It was there that he could get the one-on-one attention and structure that made school easier for him, she said.
?When he went to Valley Center, you could just see a ton of bricks lifted off his shoulders, and he calmed right down and was back to the loving Kamren that everybody knew and adored,? she said.
Survivors, services
Kamren is survived by his mother and father, Jose Merenom of Texas; his sister, Jaelynn Blakely; grandparents Christine and Chuck Blakely, of Vicksburg; his stepfather, Bill Ovesen, of Benton Harbor; and many other relatives.
Services for Kamren are set for 1 p.m. Monday at Life Story Funeral Home in Vicksburg, 409 S. Main St. Visitation with family and friends is set for 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the same location Monday
By Paula M. Davis | Kalamazoo Gazette
November 06, 2009, 10:15PM
Kamren Blakely, 10, is believed to have died from H1N1 flu.
KALAMAZOO ? Kalamazoo County has its first confirmed case of a child?s death related to the H1N1 flu virus, according to the Kalamazoo County Health and Community Services Department.
Ten-year-old Kamren David Blakely, of Kalamazoo, died Wednesday, less than two weeks after falling ill with a cough and chest congestion.
His mother, Donna Blakely, said that although Kamren had bipolar disorder, he had no other health problems. Blakely said the course of her son?s illness ?was very, very quick.?
His was the third confirmed death of a county resident related to the H1N1 influenza virus, according to the county health department. The other two H1N1-related deaths of Kalamazoo County residents involved a woman in her late 20s who died at her home on Oct. 20 and a person in his or her 40s who died Oct. 22. Allegan County resident Erica Lynn Mitchell, 29, of Otsego, died Wednesday at Bronson Methodist Hospital.
Since the beginning of September, 48 Kalamazoo County residents have been hospitalized with flulike symptoms, and the likelihood is that all were cases of H1N1, said Annie Wendt, epidemiologist for the county health department. Not all of them were confirmed as H1N1, but Wendt said ?that is still the predominant circulating strain.?
Blakely said doctors told her Kamren?s death was due to complications from the H1N1 virus. She said that during his illness he developed a bacterial infection that started in the lungs and invaded other systems of his body.
Blakely first took a congested Kamren to the emergency room on Oct. 25 when he was running a 104-degree fever. They left with medication and a diagnosis of bronchitis.
She said Kamren was doing well by the following Tuesday, Oct. 27, but the next day he again was running a high fever ? and this time his 20-month-old sister was, too.
Blakely said they went back to the pediatrician Wednesday and were advised that Kamren likely had H1N1. She received instructions for treatment and was told to return if he wasn?t better by Friday.
On Friday, Oct. 30, she took him to the hospital. Blakely said a chest X-ray showed that Kamren had double pneumonia; doctors admitted the boy and inserted a breathing tube into his body.
?I heard him cry one time Friday, and that?s the last time I heard a noise out of him,? the mother said.
In the days that followed, Blakely said, there was a valiant fight for Kamren?s life as his blood pressure dropped, his blood wouldn?t clot properly, his kidneys failed and he experienced cardiac arrest.
On Wednesday, after Kamren was flown to the University of Michigan?s Mott Children?s Hospital, in Ann Arbor, he went into cardiac arrest a third time and a scan showed he was brain-dead, Blakely said.
?I saw my son and made the hardest decision of my life,? Blakely said.
?He was being kept alive basically on life support. I made the decision that when my father arrived from Kalamazoo, I would shut the machine off. My father arrived at about 12:30 p.m. I shut his machine off. Within a minute, he was gone,? she said.
The mother said her message to other parents is to be vigilant with doctors about getting their children tested and treated if the virus is suspected.
?Take it very, very seriously,? she said.
Favorite pastimes
Blakely described her son as an outgoing youth who was all boy. Stunts on his BMX bike, learning Frisbee golf and gliding on a skateboard he got in August for his birthday were among his favorite pastimes.
Recalling his birthday, Blakely said, ?He was so happy. He got exactly everything he wanted. His excitement in his eyes was just amazing,? she said.
This past year Kamren was placed at Valley Center School, a school for children with emotional impairments. It was there that he could get the one-on-one attention and structure that made school easier for him, she said.
?When he went to Valley Center, you could just see a ton of bricks lifted off his shoulders, and he calmed right down and was back to the loving Kamren that everybody knew and adored,? she said.
Survivors, services
Kamren is survived by his mother and father, Jose Merenom of Texas; his sister, Jaelynn Blakely; grandparents Christine and Chuck Blakely, of Vicksburg; his stepfather, Bill Ovesen, of Benton Harbor; and many other relatives.
Services for Kamren are set for 1 p.m. Monday at Life Story Funeral Home in Vicksburg, 409 S. Main St. Visitation with family and friends is set for 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the same location Monday
