Indiana/Ohio: Two Siblings Die of Swine Flu, ages 19 & 26

[HenryN]

Re: Indiana/Ohio: Doctors investigating mysterious death of man and critical illness of his sister

Re: Indiana/Ohio: Doctors investigating mysterious death of man and critical illness of his sister

Coughing up blood was a symptom when the Spanish Flu turned nasty in August 1918 (it was very similar to swine flu in its presentation during the spring of 1918). There was also bleeding from the nose and ears in some patients (as well as from other areas of the body in some people).

The fact that the people alive today who were exposed to the Spanish Flu have immunity to A/H1N1 should make us pay close attention to how the Spanish Flu unfolded and how symptoms manifested. I recommend "The Great Influenza" for those who are interested.

Yes, this is a 1918 re-run with blueprints.

 

[hawkeye]

Re: Indiana/Ohio: Two Siblings Die of Swine Flu, ages 19 & 26

Blues Fest Helping Local Family
Last Update: 8/09 12:15 am

Good music, good food, and a beautiful day. But the 17th annual Cincy Blues Fest runs deeper than a few blues notes for some.

"The McIntosh's have been through a horrible thing but we would just like to help the one part we can help with," said Midge Fatheree, the President of Cincy Blues Society.

Matthew McIntosh and his older sister Mindy both lost their lives to the swine flu last month.

Now, medical bills and two funerals have left the Greendale Indiana family, especially Matt and Mindy's parents, with overwhelming bills.

That's why friends of the family stepped up Saturday night with a booth at the Cincy Blues Fest. They raffled a rain barrel, a guitar, and took monetary donations.

"The emotional trauma is one thing but the financial trauma has got to be great too. And we would just like to ease that pain. We can't do anything about the other. But we would like to help the financial needs of the family," said Fatheree.

Why the Cincy Blues Fest? Matt, who also went by "Skinny," was a member of the Cincy Blues Society and an award winning drummer for his alternative rock band.

Saturday, his fellow musicians and the blues fest crowd knew a moment of silence for Matt wouldn't cut it. So, they gave him a "moment of noise" in his honor.

"His friends are saying he went to the big gig in the sky and that's a great way to look at it," Fatheree said.

 

[hawkeye]

Re: Indiana/Ohio: Two Siblings Die of Swine Flu, ages 19 & 26

Son and daughter die from H1N1 virus
July 29, 12:21 PMUS Headlines ExaminerCharisse Van Horn


A Dillsboro, Indiana family mourns the death of both a son and daughter who lost their fight against the H1N1 virus. The parents, Katrina and Mark McIntosh, stated their 19-year-old son, Matt McIntosh, began to feel ill on June 24, 2009. When talking about Matt and the onset of his symptoms Katrina stated, ?Sometimes he runs a fever with a sinus infection or something. I didn't even think anything about it.? Yet, this wasn?t an ordinary cold or sinus infection. Several days into the sickness, Matt began coughing up blood, within one week, he died. Matt died from the H1N1 virus on July 5, 2009. During this time, the McIntosh?s 26 year old daughter, Mindy, began to get ill.

Mindy was taken to the hospital and was eventually placed on a ventilatorAfter several weeks on the ventilator, Mindy began to show signs of improvement. Her parents were able to spend the day with her and were encouraged that she would recover. . She too, had been sick with the H1N1 virus. However, the joy was short lived. Mindy, quickly took a turn for the worse, and within 48 hours, she had succumbed to the H1N1 virus. Mindy McIntosh died July 27, 2009, just three weeks after her brother. Katrina and Mark McIntosh, had lost both of their children to the virus.

The day that Matt McIntosh passed away, his mother, Katrina said that she found a four leaf clover. She found another one, less than 24 hours after her daughter, Mindy passed away. Katrina McIntosh believes that it is a sign that the siblings are together.

 

[Shiloh]

Re: Indiana/Ohio: Two Siblings Die of Swine Flu, ages 19 & 26

Source: http://www.wlwt.com/health/21107143/detail.html

Parents Get Details In H1N1 Deaths Of Siblings
Answers Given, But Questions Remain For Ind. Couple

POSTED: 5:29 pm EDT September 24, 2009
UPDATED: 6:21 pm EDT September 24, 2009

LAWRENCEBURG, Ind. -- Doctors said a host of complications caused the H1N1-related death of a young Indiana woman whose brother also died from the illness.

"The swelling of the brain is what killed her, (and) she had pneumonia and her lungs were very damaged," said Katrina McIntosh, who lost both her children within days of each other to H1N1.

Severe infections in Mindy McIntosh's lungs, heart and kidneys contributed to her death, doctors said.

The complications are extremely rare and are baffling to physicians who examined her.

Although the deaths of her daughter and son Matthew McIntosh are still fresh wounds, Katrina McIntosh said physicians' reports help provide some closure.

"I keep them right there so I can always look at them," she said.

Neither of her children had any underlying health conditions, she said, but they succumbed quickly to the virus.

"He went so much faster than Mindy," she said of her son. "He was 10 days sick, and he was gone. He died of heart attack; his heart was working so hard to keep up with what was failing in his body, his heart gave out."

Although the answers provide some relief, her pain is still fresh.

"That's what I wanted to know, is what happened," McIntosh said. "I don't know why it happened, but I know what happened."

Previous Stories:

 

[B.C.]

Re: Indiana/Ohio: Two Siblings Die of Swine Flu, ages 19 & 26

Parents Get Details In H1N1 Deaths Of Siblings
Answers Given, But Questions Remain For Ind. Couple

POSTED: 5:29 pm EDT September 24, 2009
UPDATED: 6:21 pm EDT September 24, 2009

LAWRENCEBURG, Ind. -- Doctors said a host of complications caused the H1N1-related death of a young Indiana woman whose brother also died from the illness.

"The swelling of the brain is what killed her, (and) she had pneumonia and her lungs were very damaged," said Katrina McIntosh, who lost both her children within days of each other to H1N1.

Severe infections in Mindy McIntosh's lungs, heart and kidneys contributed to her death, doctors said.

The complications are extremely rare and are baffling to physicians who examined her.

Although the deaths of her daughter and son Matthew McIntosh are still fresh wounds, Katrina McIntosh said physicians' reports help provide some closure.

"I keep them right there so I can always look at them," she said.

Neither of her children had any underlying health conditions, she said, but they succumbed quickly to the virus.

"He went so much faster than Mindy," she said of her son. "He was 10 days sick, and he was gone. He died of heart attack; his heart was working so hard to keep up with what was failing in his body, his heart gave out."

Although the answers provide some relief, her pain is still fresh.

"That's what I wanted to know, is what happened," McIntosh said. "I don't know why it happened, but I know what happened."

http://www.wlwt.com/health/21107143/detail.html

 

[alert]

Re: Indiana/Ohio: Two Siblings Die of Swine Flu, ages 19 & 26

http://www.post-trib.com/news/1991731,swineflu0115.article

State hopes story will push H1N1 vaccine
Downstate siblings died before vaccine became availability
Comments


January 15, 2010

BY MARK TAYLOR, POST-TRIBUNE CORRESPONDENT
Indiana state health officials used a real-life family tragedy to persuade Hoosiers to get vaccinated against the H1N1 flu virus at a weekly teleconference on the spread of the pandemic.

In July, Katrina McIntosh of downstate Dillsboro lost both a son and a daughter to the pandemic. Her husband contracted the swine flu, too, but did not suffer severe symptoms.

The H1N1 virus, which emerged in April in Mexico before spreading worldwide, struck in Indiana last summer before a vaccine was available.

Matthew McIntosh, 19, was a drummer in a local band and his older sister, Mindy McIntosh, 26, was a grocery store clerk. Both lived with their parents in rural Dearborn County in far southeastern Indiana bordering Ohio. Matthew McIntosh died July 5 and his sister on July 27. Both were otherwise healthy young adults, their mother said.

She said she wanted to encourage others to get vaccinated against the virus that stole the lives of her children.

"I lost two children in one month," Katrina McIntosh said, choking back tears. "I've heard people say they're not going to get the shots. Young people think they're invincible. But parents should be stern about having their family get the shots."

Indiana Health Commissioner Judy Monroe called the McIntosh family tragedy "a heart-wrenching story," and noted that novel viruses like H1N1 often impact young people more severely. She said when the virus struck it was relatively new and no vaccine was available. "Now we have the vaccine that can help protect people ... It's critically important to know that people can take action."

Monroe said Indiana now has a plentiful supply of the H1N1 vaccine, widely available through free clinics and pharmacies and physician offices.

While the vaccine itself is free, most insurance policies cover the small cost of administering the shots in pharmacies and doctor offices.

Throughout National Immunization Week, Monroe said, the Indiana State Department of Health and health care providers will be offering vaccinations in shopping malls, airports and other public places.

More than 200,000 Americans have been hospitalized by the virus and 36 Hoosiers have died from it since June 1.

There were no reported H1N1-related deaths in the week of Jan. 2-9. State Epidemiologist Pam Pontones said while most surveillance indicators of H1N1 virus activity have decreased in recent weeks in Indiana, ISDH has seen an increase in the percentage of people 50 and older seeking treatment for flu-like illness, from 5.9 percent to 14.3 percent.

"The majority of deaths from influenza typically come in the winter and traditionally affect older populations," Pontones said. State officials said the typical seasonal flu peaks in mid-February.