UNM Freshman With Flu Symptoms Dies

[Pathfinder]

UNM Freshman With Flu Symptoms Dies

ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL, N.M. | OLIVIER UYTTEBROUCK | <ABBR class=updated title=2009-11-13T10:32:07-05:00>Fri, Nov 13, 10:32 AM</ABBR>

Nov. 13--An 18-year-old University of New Mexico freshman hospitalized with flu symptoms died this week, even as health officials reported a continued decline in H1N1 cases statewide.
Raymond Plotkin, a Texas native who lived at Redondo Village Apartments, a UNM student residence hall, died Wednesday night, four days after he was admitted to UNM Hospital, spokeswoman Susan McKinsey confirmed Thursday.

Neither UNM nor the state Department of Health would say whether Plotkin died of swine flu.

However, the Health Department said three New Mexicans, including an 18-year-old Bernalillo County man without chronic health conditions, died of confirmed cases of swine flu during the week ending Thursday.

The other two New Mexicans who died were a 66-year-old Bernalillo County woman and a 42-year-old Santa Fe County man, both with chronic health conditions.

Their deaths bring to 29 the number of New Mexico swine flu deaths.
Also Thursday, federal officials reported that swine flu is deadlier than suggested by earlier estimates.

H1N1 has sickened about 22 million Americans since April and killed nearly 4,000, including 540 children, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated. Swine flu has killed seven children in New Mexico.

The new estimate of swine flu deaths nationally is about four times the number previously estimated. The new numbers don't mean swine flu has suddenly worsened, but instead reflect a long-awaited improvement in the CDC's attempt to quantify the toll of swine flu, according to The Associated Press. Plotkin is the first UNM student to die from flu, said Dr. Beverly Kloeppel, director of the Student Health Center.

"In general, it's been a three- to five-day illness, and students have been recovering from it much like students of this age group across the nation," Kloeppel said.

Flu activity on campus has tapered off significantly since early October, when more than 70 students with flu sought care at the health center. In recent weeks, the number of students with flu has averaged about 28 a week, she said.

UNM has taken measures to help prevent the spread of flu among students, such as distributing "flu kits" through residence halls that contain a surgical mask, thermometer and information, she said. Students can have meals delivered to their dorm rooms if they want to remain in isolation.

H1N1 activity in New Mexico has declined steadily over the past three weeks, said Mack Sewell, state epidemiologist.
People with flu symptoms comprised 6.6 percent of New Mexicans who sought care at medical centers during the week ending Thursday, down from 9 percent the week before, according to Department of Health data.

But Sewell warned that swine flu could come roaring back, particularly if the weather turns nasty.

"I'd like to be able to say we're over this, but I can't," Sewell said.

"Even though we have a lull now, there could be increased activity later on," he said. "We've had unseasonably warm weather, and influenza always picks up when it gets colder."

http://dailyme.com/story/2009111300004676/unm-freshman-flu-symptoms-dies.html

[Pathfinder]

Re: UNM Freshman With Flu Symptoms Dies

UNM swine flu death tests university (Posted first by Roro)

Updated: Friday, 13 Nov 2009, 6:29 PM MST


Published : Friday, 13 Nov 2009, 6:29 PM MST

• <LI sizset="58" sizcache="63">Reporter: Crystal Gutierrez
• Web Producer: Bill Diven

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - Earlier this year the University of New Mexico set guidelines to control the flu on campus, a plan put to the test after a freshman died from the disease on Wednesday.

“Very tragic at such a young age, it impacts not only people he lived with, but people in his learning community,” Dr. Beverly Kloeppel, director of the UNM student health, told KRQE News 13.

Freshman Raymond Plotkin died Wednesday night at UNM Hospital after becoming very ill with flu-like symptoms. The 18-year-old from Houston was in his first semester at UNM.

He did not have any chronic medical problems, health officials said.

The news of Plotkin's death reached students in his dorm Thursday.

“He lived right down the hall from me,” Felisha Paschel said.

Paschel said her roommate was shocked.

"She was in tears last night," Paschel continued. "She was going crazy.

She couldn't believe it.”

While students mourned, UNM staff began cleaning. The university said it deep-cleaned Plotkin's dorm but did not do any special cleaning to his classrooms.

“We haven't gone to each of his classes or done anything in particular in those classes,” Kloeppel said. They've been cleaning and sanitizing classrooms every day as part of strict sanitizing guidelines implemented back in August, but that's about all the university can do, she added.

“It’s a wide area, and this virus travels very rapidly,” Kloeppel said.

http://www.krqe.com/dpp/news/health/unm-swine-flu-death-tests-university

[JimO]

Re: UNM Freshman With Flu Symptoms Dies

Houston teen dies of swine flu in New Mexico
by Courtney Zubowski / 11 News
Updated today at 7:39 AM

HOUSTON -- A Houston teen who died from swine flu last week was buried on Sunday, just a month before his 19th birthday.

Raymond Plotkin, a Westbury High School graduate, died in Albuquerque, New Mexico where he was attending college.

The University of New Mexico freshman came down with flu-like symptoms about two weeks ago. He eventually went to the hospital, but doctors couldn't save him and he died on November 11.

?Just like that, it came to an end,? said Jason Plotkin, the victim's brother. ?It?s just tough.?

Jason Plotkin said the virus attacked his younger brother's lungs and heart.

?When it really hits home and you see all these people in the ICU with H1N1 -- especially someone in your family -- it?s like, ?Wow. This is real. This is legit,?? Plotkin said.

While Raymond Plotkin had health issues growing up, he had no problems in the last couple of years, according to family members. Doctors told the family they do not believe underlying health problems contributed to his death.

?It?s just amazing how quickly swine flu took him and he did everything right. That?s the one thing that everyone at the hospital said. He did everything right,? said Jason Plotkin.

The nuclear engineering major did not have a chance to get the swine flu vaccine.

Raymond?s brother hopes his family?s experience can help others.

?You see those signs, wash your hands. You wash your hands," he said. "If you can get the H1N1 shot, I know it?s hard to get, you know, wherever you get the shot, you got to be preventative. Everything you can do to stay healthy and stay safe."

[Pathfinder]

Re: UNM Freshman With Flu Symptoms Dies

Community mourns teen H1N1 flu death
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=3 width=1 align=left border=0><TBODY><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD align=middle>Raymond Plotkin</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>By MICHAEL C. DUKE 17.NOV.09

Raymond Plotkin, just shy of his 19th birthday, walked himself into the school hospital on Saturday morning, Nov. 7. Less than 72 hours later, the University of New Mexico freshman became the latest victim ? among the first Jewish Houstonians, if not the first ? to die from H1N1 influenza.

?Many times this college semester, Raymond told us how happy he was,? remembered his parents, Ronald and Elaine S. Plotkin, who asked that their eulogy be read by the rabbi at Raymond?s Nov. 15 graveside funeral at Congregation Emanu El Memorial Park.

?He was so happy, he said he wanted to get his Master?s and possibly his Ph.D. in engineering. We told him finish your semester first ? one step at a time,? the bereaved parents reflected, through Rabbi Pam Silk.

Raymond was born Dec. 28, 1990. He attended Parker Elementary, Sharpstown Junior High and Westbury High School, where he graduated in the top 14 percent of his class, despite having chronic health challenges that began at age 10. According to parents, Raymond was in near perfect health the past two years; thus, any preexisting conditions had no bearing on his death from H1N1.

The Houston teen was an aspiring nuclear engineer. He was one of only 18 incoming freshmen accepted to the University of New Mexico?s Learning and Living Community for Engineering program. He lived on campus in Albuquerque with three dorm-mate friends. Raymond was active in student engineering clubs and the local Hillel house. He had an endearing obsession with both Elmo and penguins.

Raymond attended religious school at Congregation Emanu El, from Consecration to Confirmation. He put his tennis talents to use, representing Houston several summers in the Jewish Community Center Teen Maccabi Games. The student?s latest passion was playing poker ? last year, he won a father-son tournament sponsored by Hadassah.

Raymond?s Emanu El instructors and friends remember a unique and lovable young man, with a charming sense of humor.

?Raymond was the only person who could make the entire class laugh, including the teacher,? explained Josh Sandler, who was Raymond?s Bar Mitzvah partner and Westbury HS classmate. ?We had some great times together,? Sandler said.

Marna Meyer, Emanu El religious school director and teacher, described Raymond as being ?a true mensch.?

?You would expect nothing to come out of his mouth, and then, suddenly, he would come up with the most philosophical, amazing responses. And, I would look at him and say, ?Raymond, my G-d, where did that come from?? He was brilliant,? Meyer observed.

Ina Baskin had Raymond as a student in both 6th and 9th grades. ?He was the kindest student ? he always wore t-shirts with some sort of message on them,? she recalled. ?And, you never heard a single complaint from him, even when he was sick.?

During his funeral, loved-ones drew from their fond memories of Raymond, and his comedic antics, to cope with the devastating loss.

Rabbi Silk, Raymond?s Confirmation teacher and pregnant at the time, said she solicited her students for baby name suggestions.

?The names that those kids suggested were terrible,? she remarked. ?That is, of course, until I got to Raymond, who confidently suggested that I give the baby the best name in the world: Raymond.?

In the family?s statement, the rabbi read that Raymond, this past Halloween, had carved a jack-o?-lantern for his dorm, and named it ?Jewbacca.? His parents said that Raymond was thrilled to experience his first-ever snowfall. When family members cleaned out his dorm room, they found three snowballs that Raymond had saved in his freezer. Describing photos of Raymond building a ?snow Jew? snow angel, his parents said, ?He looked so happy.?

In an interview with the JH-V, the teen?s father, Ronnie, said that Raymond had been diagnosed with flu-like symptoms on Sunday, Nov. 8. Raymond initially went to the campus clinic that previous Thursday, and was thought to have Strep. He went back the next day and was given a dose of Tamiflu.

Ronnie noted that Raymond suffered from vomiting and chest pains on Saturday, so his roommates helped him to the school?s teaching hospital emergency room, where he was admitted to the ICU.

With plummeting oxygen levels and blood pressure, Raymond was placd on an ECMO ? extracorporeal membrane oxygenation ? machine. ?They couldn?t have done more for us, and Raymond couldn?t have been in a better place with better, more dedicated doctors and nurses,? his mother, Elaine, said.

Raymond was put on the ECMO machine Sunday afternoon, and died Wednesday night, Nov. 11. ?I flew up there on Saturday, thinking that everything would be OK,? Ronnie pointed out. When he learned the severity of his son?s situation, Ronnie was told by doctors that they had never seen a flu patient?s condition turn so bad so quick.

The grieving father added that, despite hype to the contrary, H1N1 is deadly serious.

Friends and family have posted fond memories of Raymond on the teen?s profile on CarePages and Facebook. Before reciting Kaddish at his funeral, Rabbi Silk referred to a quotation that Raymond, himself, had posted on Facebook eight days before his untimely death:

?Life?s challenges are not supposed to paralyze you, they?re supposed to help you discover who you are.?

The rabbi reflected, ?Raymond, without question, lived this quote in his own life. And now, the quote is left for us. It was as if Raymond was saying to us: Do not let my death paralyze you, do not stay stuck here in the sadness. Instead, let my life, my jokes, the happiness I found inspire you to discover who you are, and to live joyfully and proudly each and every day. . . .?

A light afternoon rain shower passed through the cemetery as mourners performed the mitzvah of helping to bury Raymond Plotkin. Shortly thereafter, a faint rainbow appeared to the east.

The Plotkin family requests that donations in Raymond?s memory be made to:

JCC of Houston
Mike Grossman/Judy Richker Maccabi Scholarship Fund
5601 S. Braeswood Blvd.
Houston, TX 77096

-or-

UNMH Development Office
700 Lomas NE
2 Woodward Center, Ste. 100
Albuquerque, NM 87102

Specify that donations are in memory of Raymond Plotkin.

http://www.jhvonline.com/default.asp?sourceid=&smenu=96&twindow=Default&mad=No&sdetail=7879&wpage=1&skeyword=&sidate=&ccat=&ccatm=&restate=&restatus=&reoption=&retype=&repmin=&repmax=&rebed=&rebath=&subname=&pform=&sc=1291&hn=jhvonline&he=.com

[Shiloh]

Re: UNM Freshman With Flu Symptoms Dies

Source: http://www.unm.edu/~market/cgi-bin/archives/004647.html

December 17, 2009
Family Establishes Scholarship to Honor Memory of Raymond Plotkin

Raymond PlotkinWhen the freshman from Houston, Texas came to UNM, he thought he had found a home. Raymond Plotkin started class in August 2009 as a freshman interested in Chemical and Nuclear Engineering. He enjoyed his roommates and living in a dorm as part of the Engineering Living Learning Community. On Nov. 11, Raymond died suddenly from the H1N1 flu. Now his family is creating an endowment to sponsor scholarships for engineering students through the UNM Foundation.


Photo: Raymond Plotkin

His mother Elaine said, ?Raymond fell in love with UNM. He really connected with his School of Engineering advisors and did very well in school. He made good friends and was having fun. Everything was falling into place for him and the future looked bright.?

Plotkin?s family would like to share his enthusiasm for the university by building an endowment to sponsor scholarships for engineering students. The family made a generous donation to initiate the fund with the goal of awarding the first scholarship in Fall 2010.

Elaine Plotkin said, ?For those who would like to give a special gift to the University this holiday season, please consider contributing to this fund. It?s a way to keep Raymond?s memory alive and to help other students who have the same drive and optimism about the future that he did.?

The family is also encouraging people to protect themselves against the H1N1 virus by getting vaccinated. Elaine Plotkin said, ?People are getting complacent about H1N1. Please remember what happened to Raymond and get both the seasonal flu and H1N1 vaccines as soon as you can.?

More information about the fund, please contact Susan Georgia, UNM School of Engineering Development Office at 505-277-0664; sgeorgia@unm.edu.

Contributions can be sent to:
UNM Foundation/Raymond Plotkin Fund
ATTN: Susan Georgia, Development Office
UNM School of Engineering
Centennial Engineering Center
MSCO1 1140
1 University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, New Mexico 87131-0001

Media Contact: Karen Wentworth, (505) 277-5627; e-mail: kwent2@unm.edu