Gert van der Hoek
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'It's been a nightmare,' father says of daughter's swine flu
Girl, 10, fought the virus
By Elaine Marsilio (Contact)
Originally published 05:43 p.m., September 4, 2009
Updated 11:09 p.m., September 4, 2009
CORPUS CHRISTI ? Kayla Pi?on?s parents said they took precautions against the swine flu, or H1N1 virus.
Kayla?s mother, Melinda, disinfected the house regularly and told her daughter to wash her hands and avoid sick people.
Kayla, 10, carried hand sanitizer in her purse and often opened doors with a napkin.
?It still managed to get her,? her mother said.
Kayla returned home Wednesday after about a month at Driscoll Children?s Hospital. Kayla doesn?t remember much about that month. She was too ill.
Her parents only recently explained to her that she had swine flu.
On Wednesday, Kayla saw her 1-year-old miniature schnauzer, Kody, and ate fajita tacos, her first home-cooked meal in weeks.
Her family doesn?t know how the Dawson Elementary fifth-grader picked up the virus.
Kayla has been a healthy girl, a runner on the school?s cross country team and a former participant in the Beach to Bay Relay Marathon.
Kayla?s parents and her doctors consider her recovery to be a miracle, and some of the credit goes to a machine that takes blood from the body, oxygenates it as your lungs normally would do, and then returns it to the body.
Within six to eight hours of Kayla being on a ventilator at the hospital, Dr. Karl Serrao told her parents she would die unless they used the extracorporeal membrane oxygenation machine, Serrao said.
The machine allowed Kayla?s lungs to start healing, he said.
?The only thing between Kayla and death was that machine,? Serrao said.
Kayla also had a team of more than 20 medical professionals tending to her, Serrao said.
She was admitted at Driscoll Children?s Hospital on July 31 after having flu-like symptoms, shortness of breath, fatigue and headaches.
Her physician had diagnosed her with the flu earlier that week, but it wasn?t clear what type it was, her parents said. Kayla was taking Tamiflu, but she turned weak and tired. The doctor advised her parents to take her to the emergency room.
X-rays showed she had pneumonia, and mucus blocking a lower portion of her lungs, her father, Luis, said. ?Things had gotten worse,? he said.
Within 48 hours the family found out she had H1N1 ? and a drug-resistant staph infection in her lungs.
That combination can be deadly, Serrao said.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released a summary Thursday finding that most typically healthy children, older than 5 years old who got H1N1, also had bacterial infections.
Serrao said the combination of H1N1 and infection could affect anyone, even if they?re normally healthy. Those who are pregnant, young or elderly have been found to be the most at risk, he said.
For Kayla, the H1N1 caused her pneumonia and affected her immunity, he said. Her lungs were at risk of contracting the bacterial infection, he said.
All five members of Kayla?s family plan to get vaccinated for both seasonal flu and the H1N1 vaccine, when it becomes available in the fall.
?It?s been a nightmare,? Kayla?s father said. ?It?s something you want to wake up (from) and wish it?s not true.?
Kayla will do at-home respiratory treatment four times a day to break up mucus in her lungs. She will continue the treatments for the staph infection for as long as a year, her father said.
Kayla, who plans to bake brownies for her team of doctors, will be home-schooled for at least a month to monitor her progress.
?She still has a long road ahead of her,? her mother said.
http://www.caller.com/news/2009/sep...nth-in-hospital-with/?partner=yahoo_headlines
Girl, 10, fought the virus
By Elaine Marsilio (Contact)
Originally published 05:43 p.m., September 4, 2009
Updated 11:09 p.m., September 4, 2009
CORPUS CHRISTI ? Kayla Pi?on?s parents said they took precautions against the swine flu, or H1N1 virus.
Kayla?s mother, Melinda, disinfected the house regularly and told her daughter to wash her hands and avoid sick people.
Kayla, 10, carried hand sanitizer in her purse and often opened doors with a napkin.
?It still managed to get her,? her mother said.
Kayla returned home Wednesday after about a month at Driscoll Children?s Hospital. Kayla doesn?t remember much about that month. She was too ill.
Her parents only recently explained to her that she had swine flu.
On Wednesday, Kayla saw her 1-year-old miniature schnauzer, Kody, and ate fajita tacos, her first home-cooked meal in weeks.
Her family doesn?t know how the Dawson Elementary fifth-grader picked up the virus.
Kayla has been a healthy girl, a runner on the school?s cross country team and a former participant in the Beach to Bay Relay Marathon.
Kayla?s parents and her doctors consider her recovery to be a miracle, and some of the credit goes to a machine that takes blood from the body, oxygenates it as your lungs normally would do, and then returns it to the body.
Within six to eight hours of Kayla being on a ventilator at the hospital, Dr. Karl Serrao told her parents she would die unless they used the extracorporeal membrane oxygenation machine, Serrao said.
The machine allowed Kayla?s lungs to start healing, he said.
?The only thing between Kayla and death was that machine,? Serrao said.
Kayla also had a team of more than 20 medical professionals tending to her, Serrao said.
She was admitted at Driscoll Children?s Hospital on July 31 after having flu-like symptoms, shortness of breath, fatigue and headaches.
Her physician had diagnosed her with the flu earlier that week, but it wasn?t clear what type it was, her parents said. Kayla was taking Tamiflu, but she turned weak and tired. The doctor advised her parents to take her to the emergency room.
X-rays showed she had pneumonia, and mucus blocking a lower portion of her lungs, her father, Luis, said. ?Things had gotten worse,? he said.
Within 48 hours the family found out she had H1N1 ? and a drug-resistant staph infection in her lungs.
That combination can be deadly, Serrao said.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released a summary Thursday finding that most typically healthy children, older than 5 years old who got H1N1, also had bacterial infections.
Serrao said the combination of H1N1 and infection could affect anyone, even if they?re normally healthy. Those who are pregnant, young or elderly have been found to be the most at risk, he said.
For Kayla, the H1N1 caused her pneumonia and affected her immunity, he said. Her lungs were at risk of contracting the bacterial infection, he said.
All five members of Kayla?s family plan to get vaccinated for both seasonal flu and the H1N1 vaccine, when it becomes available in the fall.
?It?s been a nightmare,? Kayla?s father said. ?It?s something you want to wake up (from) and wish it?s not true.?
Kayla will do at-home respiratory treatment four times a day to break up mucus in her lungs. She will continue the treatments for the staph infection for as long as a year, her father said.
Kayla, who plans to bake brownies for her team of doctors, will be home-schooled for at least a month to monitor her progress.
?She still has a long road ahead of her,? her mother said.
http://www.caller.com/news/2009/sep...nth-in-hospital-with/?partner=yahoo_headlines