RI teen with H1N1 on life support - Lillian died

[Pathfinder]

Re: RI teen with H1N1 on life support

Re: RI teen with H1N1 on life support

Lilllian Chason, A Barrington High School graduate who was a student at the University of North Carolina, died Wednesday folllowing a long battle with H1N1.

http://www.clipsyndicate.com/video/play/1218965/unc_student_from_barrington_dies_from_h1n1

 

[Pathfinder]

Re: RI teen with H1N1 on life support - Lillian died

On Wed at 9pm, Lillian's father Eric wrote:

"I'm sorry to have to tell everyone that Lillian died this afternoon at 5:20 PM. Her sat's kept dropping during the day and Dr Charles said that the ECMO machine could no longer keep her supported. As you all know, she put up an incredible fight and if there was anyway she could have overcome this disease, she would have. We want to say thanks again to the wonderful people at the UNC hospital who have been and remain incredibly supportive. And thank you all for all your prayers and kind thoughts- it was an incredible comfort during this long difficult journey."



http://www.facebook.com/group.php?v=info&ref=search&gid=183280774868

 

[Pathfinder]

Re: RI teen with H1N1 on life support - Lillian died

H1N1 Death Encourges Students To Get Vaccinated

By Jaclyn Asztalos, NBC17, 2 hours, 26 minutes ago
Updated: Dec. 17 7:59 pm
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -

Lillian Chason was the 74th person in the state to die from the H1N1 virus. Her death has hit home for many students at UNC who have not yet been vaccinated.

Student Calin Nanney says it's a good idea to get vaccinated.

"It makes sense to go get the shot and this death does give it a more serious tone," Nanney said.

Dr. Zack Moore with the State Health Department said college kids are one of the least likely groups to get vaccinated.

"It's been a group that's been hard to reach. There has not been an uptake of vaccine for that age group," Moore said.

And Moore said the flu loves college living conditions. Graduate student Amy Lucas agrees.

"As an undergrad I tended to get sick more often than I do as a grad student because I don't live in the dorms," Lucas said.

Although the campus is making the vaccine readily available, some students including Alex Capo say they still won't get the shot no matter what.

"I wasn't planning on getting it before and I still don't plan on getting it. It hasn't really changed my mind," Capo said.

Moore said he hopes more students will take advantage of the vaccine while they're on break.

"We're definitely encouraging them to get vaccinated so by the time college kids come back from vacation we'll have a strong immunity with that age group," Moore said.

An immunity he says can save lives.


http://fwix.com/share/42_1823ff84ea

 

[Readymom]

Re: RI teen with H1N1 on life support - Lillian died

Lillian's obituary:

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/providence/obituary.aspx?n=lillian-claire-chason&pid=137514965

CHASON, LILLIAN CLAIRE of Barrington, Rhode Island died of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome on December 16, 2009 at UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Lillian was born on March 3, 1991, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the daughter of Eric and Cate Chason. She later moved with her family to Barrington, where she attended public schools, including Barrington High School. She was an avid rower and softball player but her heart and passion lay in theatre. She was an enthusiastic member of the Barrington Community Theatre, where she held leads in Twelve Angry Men and Grease. She also directed a one-act adaptation of Of Mice and Men. As a freshman at UNC-Chapel Hill, she won the lead in a student play called 'A New Dress for Mona.'

Lillian leaves behind a loving family, including her parents Eric and Cate, her sister Hannah, her grandmothers Miriam Chason and Tootsie Cox, and many aunts, uncles and cousins who will never forget her. Also grieving are a devoted community of friends both in Rhode Island and North Carolina, and Lillian's dear friend, Matt Gamache. The family wishes to thank Dr. Anthony Charles, and the staff and nurses at UNC Hospitals, for their care and dedication to Lillian while she was ill.

Lillian was a joy, a talent, a beauty and a force to be reckoned with. She had strong opinions, a fierce intelligence and a sweet heart. She lived her life in all directions, bright and extravagant. She was, and is, a magnificent soul. The best lives take unpredictable turns; when we least expected it, Lillian soared, and sails under the gale force of the spirit.

Visitation will be at 4p.m to 8p.m. Monday, December 21, at PERRY MCSTAY FUNERAL HOME, 2555 Pawtucket Avenue in East Providence. A funeral service will be held at 11a.m. on Tuesday, December 22, at First Unitarian Church 1 Benevolent Street in Providence. Graveside service will be at Swan Point Cemetery in Providence, followed by a reception at the Rhode Island Country Club in Barrington. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made in Lillian's name to the Foundation for Fighting Blindness, 11435 Cronhill Dr., Owings Mills, MD 21117-2220.

 

[sharon sanders]

Re: RI teen with H1N1 on life support - Lillian died

A beautiful remembrance. Thank you for posting.

 

[Pathfinder]

Re: RI teen with H1N1 on life support - Lillian died

12/22/09
Alvarez - Column
<!-- /META CONTENT -->
Lessons of Lillian, the good who died young

<TABLE class=content_photo_main cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" align=center border=0><TBODY><TR><TD align=middle>

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></B>
By Victor Alvarez

By now you know Lillian Chason as the Barrington High School graduate and freshman at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, who recently died from complications from the H1N1 virus.

But that?s just shorthand for a life that became a news story. Many of you certainly knew her much better than that. You were her friends, classmates and family. As her story unfolded you watched and waited, as helpless as the rest of us.

My wife knew her. She said Lillian was a sweet girl from a loving family. As reported, Lillian was a standout actress with the Barrington Community Theatre program and was involved in drama at UNC Chapel Hill. Everything I have read and heard about this young woman makes me envy those of you who got to know her. And even though I have read her story, heard the kind words spoken of her and read the internet comments about Lillian, I know I?ll never truly know her.

Still, she haunts me.

A story about her has been on the top of our website for weeks as we chronicled her illness and death. On a few occasions I nearly took it down.

It would have been a selfish act. But even for a stranger such as myself, seeing Lillian?s face every day was almost too much to take. That stunning photo. Not a yearbook picture or a snapshot taken of her at a school play, but a candid shot that seemed to capture the beauty of this girl and her life. A girl I never met. A life I never knew. She is smiling bright in the photo, the picture of health and promise.

I?ve seen hundreds of obituary photos in my years of working for newspapers. I always wonder what the person in the photo might have said if someone were to tell them, in the moment, that this is the photo that would run with their obituary. Older folks would probably take it in stride. Some might not care.

I can only imagine what Lillian would have thought.

I saw that picture again Tuesday morning at a Barrington coffee shop. It was on a glossy flyer for a blood drive in her honor. I drove to work with that picture in my head.

I still can?t shake it.

I know I am not alone. More than 9,000 members have signed on to Lillian?s page on Facebook. Surely only a fraction of them knew Lillian. Perhaps the rest have been haunted by her as well ? just as we were haunted by Victoria Sousa, the healthy and bright girl from Bristol who fell to H1N1 earlier this year. It?s always shocking to lose people such as Victoria and Lillian ? healthy people in the prime of their lives. When it?s a car accident or other random tragedy, it?s almost easier to understand.

The world is full of chaos and we can?t control it.

But when someone is healthy one day and gone the next, well, I can only speak for myself when I say it is more that I can take. I feel helpless, weak.

And I think of my children, as you likely think of yours. You can?t protect your children from the world. You can?t prepare them for everything.

You can only hold them and love them while they are here.

http://www.eastbayri.com/detail/133155.html

 

[Pathfinder]

Re: RI teen with H1N1 on life support - Lillian died

January 29, 2010
Katy Doll

Arts Editor
Freshman Lillian Chason was cast as the lead role, but died in December from H1N1 complications.



The cast of ?A New Dress for Mona? spent hours in rehearsal, and even more time praying for their hospitalized lead actress, Lillian Chason.
Based on the story of a young woman killed for her faith, ?Mona? was to have featured Chason in the title role. Chason, a freshman, died on Dec. 16 with complications from the H1N1 virus.

The play follows the real-life story of Mona Mahmudnizhad, a woman of the Baha?i faith in Iran, who was executed for her beliefs.

Though members of the cast and crew said they were initially crushed when Chason died, they came to feel her spirit in the play.

?The spirit of Lillian and the spirit of Mona just coalesced,? said director Joseph Megel. ?This was just heart wrenching and mystifying and inexplicable, but we sort of feel that both Lillian and Mona are looking on us and smiling.?

Mona was a member of the Baha?i faith, which is recognized internationally but is not recognized by members of Islam in Iran, said Mark Perry, the author of the play and a member of the Baha?i faith.

Mona was executed along with several other women after being accused of teaching religious children?s classes, he said.

?I was really moved by the story of this young girl and the other women who were executed just simply for their belief and their refusal to cave in to pressure,? Perry said.

While working on staging this play, Megel said he realized the story was about witnessing, particularly witnessing political injustice.

To emphasize the importance of witness, most of the cast form an ensemble, changing roles and costumes.

?We?re telling someone?s life story and telling that as a group is really powerful,? said Natalie Pelletier, a freshman who is playing Mona.

She said that the group experience was powerful and helped all of the cast pull together.

While Chason was in the hospital, the cast took turns playing Mona during rehearsals, waiting for Chason?s return. After her death, the group returned from break and shifted roles to fill her place.

Though Mona?s story takes place in the 1980s, and there is still religious conflict for the Baha?i. Perry?s brother-in-law, Saeid Rezaie, a leader of the Baha?i community in Iran, is in prison in Tehran for his beliefs.

Perry said that Rezaie prayed for Chason while in prison and his first question to his wife any time she visited was about Chason?s health.

?That?s the kind of witnessing we?re talking about. It?s real world uniting of people?s hearts,? he said.

A theater veteran of more than 30 years, Megel said he has never worked on a theatrical endeavor that was as emotional as this, adding that this was an example of art resonating with real-life experiences.

Members of the cast said that after Lillian?s death the play took on an even more important role for them than it previously had.

?This play is about understanding yourself in a world of chaos and having the strength to do what is right, which is not always the easy path,?
Stephanie Linas, a sophomore and member of the play, wrote in an e-mail.

?Both Lillian and Mona helped up discover this lesson.?

http://www.dailytarheel.com/content/mona-play-recounts-story-faith