Annie Prange
New member
We know this family well and consider them dear friends... just devastating... tthere is a picture in the article however I don't know how to embed in this article. I commend Paul and Leanne for going public during such a difficult time.
?It?s just very scary that it can hit so hard and fast?
By Johanna Weidner, Record staff
BLOOMINGDALE ? Leanne and Paul Hergott knew their only daughter, Sarah, was fragile and would require constant care for her whole life.
But the Bloomingdale couple never thought Sarah would die suddenly of a common virus when she was just 12.
Less than a week after waking up with a fever, Sarah took her last breath on Thursday in her mother?s arms.
At the emergency department the day after she became sick, the Hergotts were told their daughter had the H1N1 flu virus.
?They diagnosed her right away with H1N1, it was so severe,? Leanne said.
The Hergotts can?t believe how quickly their daughter became seriously ill.
?It?s just very scary that it can hit so hard and fast,? Leanne said.
Sarah had Angelman syndrome, a genetic disorder causing mental and physical disabilities and often misdiagnosed as cerebral palsy or autism. She suffered from seizures, eating and sleep disorders, and difficulty walking.
She only spoke a few words ? her favourites, momma and dadda.
About a year and a half ago, Sarah developed pneumonia and suffered a massive seizure. She was on life-support for a week and never fully recovered, with colds routinely turning into pneumonia.
?We knew that she was medically fragile and was at a higher risk for H1N1 to be fatal,? Leanne said.
But they also knew she had gotten through many illnesses before.
Regional medical officer of health Dr. Liana Nolan could not say if Sarah died of H1N1.
?We?ve had no confirmed deaths due to H1N1,? Nolan said.
However, only cases confirmed by laboratory testing are reported to public health.
?It?s possible that there are deaths that don?t get reported to us because that test was not done,? Nolan said.
Sarah did not have the nose swab used to test for the virus, her parents said.
She didn?t get the H1N1 vaccination.
?It wasn?t available until this week and she was sick on Saturday,? Leanne said.
The couple aren?t sure how they?re going to move on without the girl who was at the centre of their lives since she was born.
?It has definitely ruined us. We?re going to have to learn how to live a completely different life,? Leanne said. ?She fulfilled us. She made us a family.?
They?re urging everyone in the community to take the H1N1 flu virus seriously and take every precaution, from getting vaccinated to washing hands regularly and staying home when sick.
?Do what you can to protect yourself and your family,? Leanne said.
Both Leanne and Paul got flu-like symptoms after Sarah.
?We were sick two days and we snapped out of it,? Leanne said. ?Our daughter didn?t have a chance.?
Sarah went to school last Friday at Rosemount Public School in Kitchener for very high-needs students. After school was the usual routine: Sarah had a snack, then curled up with her mother on the couch under a blanket to watch cartoons.
She woke up Saturday morning with a fever and was inconsolable. The fever continued, and her parents took her to Grand River Hospital on Sunday morning. (The hospital could not comment on the case Friday evening.)
By Sunday afternoon, her lungs had become so clogged that oxygen therapy wasn?t working. Hospital staff wasn?t sure a ventilator would help. But the Hergotts had decided after the last time they would never put their daughter on life support again.
?We said the rest of her life is going to be a life,? Leanne said.
Their choices were to keep Sarah in hospital hooked up to an intravenous, or bring her home where they had an oxygen tank and she would be comfortable. She wasn?t expected to last a week.
?We said we want her to be peaceful, because she loves her family and she loves everything in this house,? Leanne said.
They brought her home Sunday evening, gave her a bath and tucked her into bed. The fever continued into Monday when she was started on an antiviral drug.
Sarah was sick, but alert.
?By Tuesday, we couldn?t get her out of the bed,? Leanne said.
She continued to worsen as the hours passed. On Thursday afternoon, Sarah started gasping for breath.
Leanne was lying with her in bed, holding her precious daughter in her arms when Sarah took her last breath.
?When it was all over, I wouldn?t let her go for an hour and a half,? Leanne said.
?It was peaceful to stop hearing that horrible breathing, but it wasn?t peaceful to see your daughter take her last breath.?
Sarah was expected to have a normal life expectancy despite her disabilities.
?Our biggest worry was what was going to happen to her when we were gone,? Paul said.
H1N1 primarily affects children, teenagers and young adults, but for most the virus is mild and does not require medical care.
Almost nine out of 10 deaths are in people with underlying medical conditions, Nolan said. Every year in Ontario, an estimated 11 children age five to 14 die of seasonal flu.
Leanne said Sarah ?had a smile that made everybody else smile? and ?this laugh that would go on and on.?
And she loved being close to her mother and father.
?She always had to be touched and cuddled,? Leanne said. ?And she gave the tightest hugs and the best kisses.?
jweidner@therecord.com
http://news.therecord.com/News/Local/article/622261
?It?s just very scary that it can hit so hard and fast?
By Johanna Weidner, Record staff
BLOOMINGDALE ? Leanne and Paul Hergott knew their only daughter, Sarah, was fragile and would require constant care for her whole life.
But the Bloomingdale couple never thought Sarah would die suddenly of a common virus when she was just 12.
Less than a week after waking up with a fever, Sarah took her last breath on Thursday in her mother?s arms.
At the emergency department the day after she became sick, the Hergotts were told their daughter had the H1N1 flu virus.
?They diagnosed her right away with H1N1, it was so severe,? Leanne said.
The Hergotts can?t believe how quickly their daughter became seriously ill.
?It?s just very scary that it can hit so hard and fast,? Leanne said.
Sarah had Angelman syndrome, a genetic disorder causing mental and physical disabilities and often misdiagnosed as cerebral palsy or autism. She suffered from seizures, eating and sleep disorders, and difficulty walking.
She only spoke a few words ? her favourites, momma and dadda.
About a year and a half ago, Sarah developed pneumonia and suffered a massive seizure. She was on life-support for a week and never fully recovered, with colds routinely turning into pneumonia.
?We knew that she was medically fragile and was at a higher risk for H1N1 to be fatal,? Leanne said.
But they also knew she had gotten through many illnesses before.
Regional medical officer of health Dr. Liana Nolan could not say if Sarah died of H1N1.
?We?ve had no confirmed deaths due to H1N1,? Nolan said.
However, only cases confirmed by laboratory testing are reported to public health.
?It?s possible that there are deaths that don?t get reported to us because that test was not done,? Nolan said.
Sarah did not have the nose swab used to test for the virus, her parents said.
She didn?t get the H1N1 vaccination.
?It wasn?t available until this week and she was sick on Saturday,? Leanne said.
The couple aren?t sure how they?re going to move on without the girl who was at the centre of their lives since she was born.
?It has definitely ruined us. We?re going to have to learn how to live a completely different life,? Leanne said. ?She fulfilled us. She made us a family.?
They?re urging everyone in the community to take the H1N1 flu virus seriously and take every precaution, from getting vaccinated to washing hands regularly and staying home when sick.
?Do what you can to protect yourself and your family,? Leanne said.
Both Leanne and Paul got flu-like symptoms after Sarah.
?We were sick two days and we snapped out of it,? Leanne said. ?Our daughter didn?t have a chance.?
Sarah went to school last Friday at Rosemount Public School in Kitchener for very high-needs students. After school was the usual routine: Sarah had a snack, then curled up with her mother on the couch under a blanket to watch cartoons.
She woke up Saturday morning with a fever and was inconsolable. The fever continued, and her parents took her to Grand River Hospital on Sunday morning. (The hospital could not comment on the case Friday evening.)
By Sunday afternoon, her lungs had become so clogged that oxygen therapy wasn?t working. Hospital staff wasn?t sure a ventilator would help. But the Hergotts had decided after the last time they would never put their daughter on life support again.
?We said the rest of her life is going to be a life,? Leanne said.
Their choices were to keep Sarah in hospital hooked up to an intravenous, or bring her home where they had an oxygen tank and she would be comfortable. She wasn?t expected to last a week.
?We said we want her to be peaceful, because she loves her family and she loves everything in this house,? Leanne said.
They brought her home Sunday evening, gave her a bath and tucked her into bed. The fever continued into Monday when she was started on an antiviral drug.
Sarah was sick, but alert.
?By Tuesday, we couldn?t get her out of the bed,? Leanne said.
She continued to worsen as the hours passed. On Thursday afternoon, Sarah started gasping for breath.
Leanne was lying with her in bed, holding her precious daughter in her arms when Sarah took her last breath.
?When it was all over, I wouldn?t let her go for an hour and a half,? Leanne said.
?It was peaceful to stop hearing that horrible breathing, but it wasn?t peaceful to see your daughter take her last breath.?
Sarah was expected to have a normal life expectancy despite her disabilities.
?Our biggest worry was what was going to happen to her when we were gone,? Paul said.
H1N1 primarily affects children, teenagers and young adults, but for most the virus is mild and does not require medical care.
Almost nine out of 10 deaths are in people with underlying medical conditions, Nolan said. Every year in Ontario, an estimated 11 children age five to 14 die of seasonal flu.
Leanne said Sarah ?had a smile that made everybody else smile? and ?this laugh that would go on and on.?
And she loved being close to her mother and father.
?She always had to be touched and cuddled,? Leanne said. ?And she gave the tightest hugs and the best kisses.?
jweidner@therecord.com
http://news.therecord.com/News/Local/article/622261
