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Source: http://www.thedenverchannel.com/health/21257454/detail.html
Parents Of 12-Year-Old H1N1 Victim Urge Vaccination
Boulder Boy Died After Exposure To H1N1
Christin Ayers, 7NEWS Reporter
POSTED: 10:19 pm MDT October 9, 2009
UPDATED: 11:46 pm MDT October 9, 2009
BOULDER, Colo. -- The parents of a 12-year-old Boulder boy who died after being exposed to the H1N1 virus are speaking out for the first time, urging parents to get their children vaccinated.
Brady Goguan was a Boy Scout who had battled esophageal problems and seasonal asthma for most of his life. His parents, Bruce Goguan and Robin Bolduc, adopted him when he was 7 years old.
In July, he went to Children's Hospital for what his parents said was supposed to be an unremarkable surgery. Doctors planned to remove part of Brady's esophagus.
But the sutures did not hold and shortly afterward, Brady developed a lung infection and stopped breathing on his own. He would be taken off of life support a few days later.
"We were called into a meeting and a decision was made that Brady most likely wasn't there anymore and we needed to turn the machines off," said Brady's mother, Robin Bolduc. "So we did. We held onto him, they turned everything off and he didn't take one breath. There was no heartbeat. Not one."
Bolduc and her husband would learn a few days later that Brady had been exposed to H1N1.
"We were just in shock," said Bolduc, whose husband has multiple sclerosis and could also be vulnerable to the virus. "I was terrified for my husband. He's on a ventilator and all I could think was, 'I can't lose my son and my husband all at once.'"
Bruce would be fine, but Bolduc said her son's death and the subsequent fears of her husband being sickened awakened a desire to encourage even healthy children to get the H1N1 vaccine to stop transmission of the virus to those who are most at-risk.
"It's not just about your child. It's about all the other people you're exposing your child to," said Bolduc. "You might be able to convince yourself that your child is healthy and is not at risk, but your child could expose a vulnerable child before the symptoms occur."
Bolduc said she is aware that her plea could be controversial and that the decision about whether to get the vaccine is a personal one.
"I'm not going to tell anyone they have to get the vaccine, but just make a really thoughtful decision," she said.
Jody Erwin, the emergency response coordinator for Jefferson County Public Health, stressed that there are no known safety issues with the injectable H1N1 vaccine.
"I haven't seen any safety issues or concerns with it in the studies I've seen," said Erwin. "I don't see any concerns with that."
Erwin said the vaccine will be available to the public in the coming weeks, based on supply and demand.
Parents Of 12-Year-Old H1N1 Victim Urge Vaccination
Boulder Boy Died After Exposure To H1N1
Christin Ayers, 7NEWS Reporter
POSTED: 10:19 pm MDT October 9, 2009
UPDATED: 11:46 pm MDT October 9, 2009
BOULDER, Colo. -- The parents of a 12-year-old Boulder boy who died after being exposed to the H1N1 virus are speaking out for the first time, urging parents to get their children vaccinated.
Brady Goguan was a Boy Scout who had battled esophageal problems and seasonal asthma for most of his life. His parents, Bruce Goguan and Robin Bolduc, adopted him when he was 7 years old.
In July, he went to Children's Hospital for what his parents said was supposed to be an unremarkable surgery. Doctors planned to remove part of Brady's esophagus.
But the sutures did not hold and shortly afterward, Brady developed a lung infection and stopped breathing on his own. He would be taken off of life support a few days later.
"We were called into a meeting and a decision was made that Brady most likely wasn't there anymore and we needed to turn the machines off," said Brady's mother, Robin Bolduc. "So we did. We held onto him, they turned everything off and he didn't take one breath. There was no heartbeat. Not one."
Bolduc and her husband would learn a few days later that Brady had been exposed to H1N1.
"We were just in shock," said Bolduc, whose husband has multiple sclerosis and could also be vulnerable to the virus. "I was terrified for my husband. He's on a ventilator and all I could think was, 'I can't lose my son and my husband all at once.'"
Bruce would be fine, but Bolduc said her son's death and the subsequent fears of her husband being sickened awakened a desire to encourage even healthy children to get the H1N1 vaccine to stop transmission of the virus to those who are most at-risk.
"It's not just about your child. It's about all the other people you're exposing your child to," said Bolduc. "You might be able to convince yourself that your child is healthy and is not at risk, but your child could expose a vulnerable child before the symptoms occur."
Bolduc said she is aware that her plea could be controversial and that the decision about whether to get the vaccine is a personal one.
"I'm not going to tell anyone they have to get the vaccine, but just make a really thoughtful decision," she said.
Jody Erwin, the emergency response coordinator for Jefferson County Public Health, stressed that there are no known safety issues with the injectable H1N1 vaccine.
"I haven't seen any safety issues or concerns with it in the studies I've seen," said Erwin. "I don't see any concerns with that."
Erwin said the vaccine will be available to the public in the coming weeks, based on supply and demand.