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Father of flu victim urges shots
H1N1 wanes, threat lingers
By Michelle Lang, Calgary Herald
November 27, 2009
More Images ?
Kris Gorbous holds a photo of his 16 year-old son Michael who his fighting for his life in the ICU at the Foothills Hospital with the H1N1 virus. Gorbous is discouraged that demand for the H1N1 vaccination has dropped, he hopes to draw attention to the seriousness of the virus
Photograph by: Gavin Young, Calgary Herald
As nearly 50,000 Albertans head to H1N1 vaccination clinics every day, the father of a once-healthy 16-year-old with swine flu who is now on life support is urging people to join the rush for a shot.
Kris Gorbous, whose son Michael has been in a medically induced coma for nearly one month as he battles H1N1, worries Calgarians may get complacent about the virus as the second wave of the pandemic is waning locally.
But Gorbous said his son is an example of why people must remain vigilant about the new strain of influenza, which experts say targets younger victims than the seasonal flu.
The otherwise healthy teen contracted H1N1 before the vaccine became available, and is now on a ventilator, dialysis and a specialized device to add more oxygen into his blood.
Michael, who is still in a coma at Foothills Hospital, has pneumonia in both lungs and has lost 40 pounds since the ordeal began.
"I hear a lot of people still questioning if they should get a shot or not. I bring up Michael's case right away," Gorbous said in a telephone interview from Foothills.
"It's imperative that people get the shot."
His comments come as Alberta Health estimates 50,000 people a day are now receiving the H1N1 vaccine.
A total of 850,000 people in this province have received a shot since the campaign got off to a controversial start in October, when clinics were plagued by long lineups and officials had to suspend the program due to concerns about a shortage of doses.
The province now has a good supply of the vaccine and earlier this week opened its H1N1 clinics to the general public.
On Thursday, Dr. Andre Corriveau, Alberta's chief medical officer of health, said people must continue to be vaccinated if the province wants to delay or minimize a third major outbreak of the virus.
"Our best chance of avoiding a significant third wave would be to immunize as many Albertans as possible," said Corriveau.
He noted the peak of the second wave of H1N1 has largely subsided in Alberta. Community settings such as schools are reporting far fewer cases and Calgary's influenza assessment centre has suspended operations after the number of patients seeking help dropped significantly.
The Alberta government said Thursday it is still working to distribute the vaccine in settings outside of mass clinics.
The province hopes to distribute doses of the vaccine to physicians by next week. It's not yet clear when shots will be available in pharmacies.
On Thursday, meanwhile, Alberta Health Services reported two additional deaths related to H1N1 in two Edmonton-area residents.
The victims were a man and a woman, both adults who had underlying medical conditions.
A total of 54 Albertans with H1N1 have died and 1,156 people in the province have been hospitalized because of the virus.
In Michael Gorbous's case, the local teen became ill with H1N1 on Oct. 22.
For the first few days of his illness, he had a fever and other typical symptoms of influenza.
Although Michael had none of the risk factors that typically predispose patients to developing serious disease from the flu, he began experiencing chest pain by the sixth day of his illness.
His family called an ambulance, but paramedics told them his vitals were strong and he could remain at home.
By Nov. 2, however, his condition deteriorated and he was admitted to Foothills Medical Centre, where doctors placed him in a medically induced coma so they could control his breathing with a respirator.
His father said the "resilient" teen has made some slight improvements, but he does not yet know when his son will regain consciousness.
"We were told this week it could be a long haul," said Kris Gorbous. "As of Sunday, it's four weeks (in hospital). It's been pretty much a nightmare."
http://www.calgaryherald.com/entertainment/Father+victim+urges+shots/2275149/story.html
H1N1 wanes, threat lingers
By Michelle Lang, Calgary Herald
November 27, 2009
More Images ?
Kris Gorbous holds a photo of his 16 year-old son Michael who his fighting for his life in the ICU at the Foothills Hospital with the H1N1 virus. Gorbous is discouraged that demand for the H1N1 vaccination has dropped, he hopes to draw attention to the seriousness of the virus
Photograph by: Gavin Young, Calgary Herald
As nearly 50,000 Albertans head to H1N1 vaccination clinics every day, the father of a once-healthy 16-year-old with swine flu who is now on life support is urging people to join the rush for a shot.
Kris Gorbous, whose son Michael has been in a medically induced coma for nearly one month as he battles H1N1, worries Calgarians may get complacent about the virus as the second wave of the pandemic is waning locally.
But Gorbous said his son is an example of why people must remain vigilant about the new strain of influenza, which experts say targets younger victims than the seasonal flu.
The otherwise healthy teen contracted H1N1 before the vaccine became available, and is now on a ventilator, dialysis and a specialized device to add more oxygen into his blood.
Michael, who is still in a coma at Foothills Hospital, has pneumonia in both lungs and has lost 40 pounds since the ordeal began.
"I hear a lot of people still questioning if they should get a shot or not. I bring up Michael's case right away," Gorbous said in a telephone interview from Foothills.
"It's imperative that people get the shot."
His comments come as Alberta Health estimates 50,000 people a day are now receiving the H1N1 vaccine.
A total of 850,000 people in this province have received a shot since the campaign got off to a controversial start in October, when clinics were plagued by long lineups and officials had to suspend the program due to concerns about a shortage of doses.
The province now has a good supply of the vaccine and earlier this week opened its H1N1 clinics to the general public.
On Thursday, Dr. Andre Corriveau, Alberta's chief medical officer of health, said people must continue to be vaccinated if the province wants to delay or minimize a third major outbreak of the virus.
"Our best chance of avoiding a significant third wave would be to immunize as many Albertans as possible," said Corriveau.
He noted the peak of the second wave of H1N1 has largely subsided in Alberta. Community settings such as schools are reporting far fewer cases and Calgary's influenza assessment centre has suspended operations after the number of patients seeking help dropped significantly.
The Alberta government said Thursday it is still working to distribute the vaccine in settings outside of mass clinics.
The province hopes to distribute doses of the vaccine to physicians by next week. It's not yet clear when shots will be available in pharmacies.
On Thursday, meanwhile, Alberta Health Services reported two additional deaths related to H1N1 in two Edmonton-area residents.
The victims were a man and a woman, both adults who had underlying medical conditions.
A total of 54 Albertans with H1N1 have died and 1,156 people in the province have been hospitalized because of the virus.
In Michael Gorbous's case, the local teen became ill with H1N1 on Oct. 22.
For the first few days of his illness, he had a fever and other typical symptoms of influenza.
Although Michael had none of the risk factors that typically predispose patients to developing serious disease from the flu, he began experiencing chest pain by the sixth day of his illness.
His family called an ambulance, but paramedics told them his vitals were strong and he could remain at home.
By Nov. 2, however, his condition deteriorated and he was admitted to Foothills Medical Centre, where doctors placed him in a medically induced coma so they could control his breathing with a respirator.
His father said the "resilient" teen has made some slight improvements, but he does not yet know when his son will regain consciousness.
"We were told this week it could be a long haul," said Kris Gorbous. "As of Sunday, it's four weeks (in hospital). It's been pretty much a nightmare."
http://www.calgaryherald.com/entertainment/Father+victim+urges+shots/2275149/story.html