Re: The dead children thread
Re: The dead children thread
Source:
http://www.star-telegram.com/health/story/1642373.html
Tarrant County health officials investigating whether girl, 14, died of swine flu (Confirmed A/H1N1 see below)
Posted Monday, Sep. 28, 2009
By ALEX BRANCH and JAN JARVIS
abranch@star-telegram.com
Health officials are investigating whether a Leonard Middle School student who died Sunday after being hospitalized with flulike symptoms had the H1N1 swine flu.
Chloe Lindsey, 14, fell ill Wednesday evening and had developed a temperature of 103.8 degrees and pneumonia when she was rushed to the hospital Sunday, said her father, Tom Osborne.
She tested positive for a Type A influenza at her doctor’s office Friday, he said. H1N1 is a particular strain of Type A that requires further testing for a diagnosis.
Lindsey, an eighth-grader, had no underlying health problems. She ran track and played clarinet in the school band, he said.
"We want other parents to be aware . . . this happened so fast," he said, fighting tears as he spoke outside his Benbrook home Monday evening. "She was so healthy. And it got her and got her so fast."
Health officials are investigating whether influenza was a contributing cause of the death and whether Lindsey had the H1N1 virus, said Dr. Sandra Parker, medical director and health authority for Tarrant County Public Health. Conclusive results should be available today after additional tests are completed.
"We are conducting additional testing that is not limited to H1N1," she said.
The Tarrant County medical examiner was notified of the death by a physician with Cook Children’s Medical Center, said Linda Anderson, a spokeswoman for the medical examiner. However, the attending doctor will determine the cause of death. Texas law allows a patient’s physician to determine a cause of death without an autopsy.
If H1N1 influenza is confirmed as the cause of death, Lindsey would be the first swine flu-related fatality in Tarrant County. There have been 14 people in Tarrant County hospitalized with flulike illnesses.
Fort Worth school district officials said counselors were at the school Monday to help grieving students and staff. In a news release, the district said that "while no information regarding the cause of death has been given, school custodial staff worked overnight to thoroughly clean the school — classrooms and lockers — with approved sanitizers."
CDC guidelines
Lindsey went home from school Wednesday evening feeling "flushed," Osborne said. On Thursday morning, she had a fever, and her mother, Tammy Osborne, made her stay home.
By Friday, Lindsey was congested and feeling worse, so her parents took her to her pediatrician’s office, where she tested positive for flu.
However, she did not receive the antiviral medication Tamiflu because the doctors said the CDC guidelines recommend giving it only to people most at risk, he said.
Health officials announced this month that the antiviral medicines should be reserved for people most at risk, including pregnant women, children younger than 5 and those with certain chronic conditions like asthma and heart disease.
"They kept asking if she had asthma or diabetes," Tom Osborne said. "They said if there is not an underlying health problem then the CDC recommends withholding it because they are so short, especially on the child doses. They said to make sure she gets lots of fluids and rest."
On Friday evening, Lindsey’s temperature rose to just under 104 degrees, he said. They called the doctor’s office and were told that it is normal for temperatures to rise at night and to keep doing their best to keep it down. "They said not to really start worrying about the fever until it hits 105," he said.
On Saturday, Lindsey’s breathing seemed shallow, he said. Her parents thought that perhaps she was getting dehydrated. But early Sunday morning, while Lindsey was lying in bed with Tammy, her breathing worsened, he said.
"[Tammy] asked her 'Baby, why are you breathing like that?’ " he said. "Chloe said 'Because I can’t, and because it hurts.’ She said it was in her back and her ribs and her chest.
"And that’s when my wife said 'That’s it, we’re going to the hospital.’ "
When Lindsey arrived at Cook Children’s emergency department at 7:22 a.m. Sunday, she had flulike symptoms that included fever and respiratory issues, a hospital spokesperson said.
Tom Osborne cried as he recounted Lindsey being put on a ventilator, then going into cardiac arrest. Doctors and nurses performed CPR on her for 45 minutes but could not save her, he said.
"I want to thank all the people at Cooks," he said, his voice breaking. "They had 26 people in this tiny room trying to save my daughter’s life. But her little body just couldn’t do it."
Tom Osborne said his family is still waiting for a conclusive finding on whether Lindsey had swine flu.
He said he and his wife don’t blame their daughter’s pediatrician but can’t help but question the CDC guidelines.
"For all the parents out there, insist on treatment," he said. "We don’t understand how we have gotten to this point where we don’t have the medicine for these children."
Staff writers Anthony Spangler and Eva-Marie Ayala contributed to this report.
Source:
http://cbs11tv.com/local/h1n1.teen.death.2.1214574.html
By Arezow Doost
FORT WORTH (CBS 11 / TXA 21) ―
A Tarrant County family is mourning the loss of their teenage daughter. County health officials confirmed Tuesday that Chloe Lindsey died as a result of the H1N1 flu virus. It is the first H1N1-related death in Tarrant County.
Now, Chloe's parents want others across North Texas to hear their story and realize they could soon face the same situation.
It's a description from a proud father: "Chloe was just beautiful - just a beautiful child," said Tom Osborne of his teenage daughter.
The Osborne family is pulling together and trying to make sense of Chloe's death. "Right now my world is in a little darker place," her father said.
Chloe died Sunday night at Cook Children's Medical Center. Her death came just five days after she started feeling sick.
Thursday, Chloe's parents kept her home from Leonard Middle School in Fort Worth. By Friday she had gotten worse, so they took the eighth grader to her pediatrician and were told to keep a close eye on her.
"This thing does not discriminate. It will go after anybody," Tom Osborne said of the illness that claimed his daughter's life. "My baby girl was... she was radiant, had so much promise. [A] straight-A student, ran track and loved by so many and it got her, too."
The Osbornes say their pediatrician followed the guidelines set by the Centers for Disease Control and couldn't give Chloe Tamiflu. The CDC says, because of a nationwide shortage of Tamiflu, they recommend only giving the drug to children 2 years old and younger - or to children older than 2 only if they have a chronic illness.
"If we could have controlled the flu we would have headed off the pneumonia," Osborne said.
Doctors told the Osbornes their daughter suffered from influenza and viral pneumonia.
The Osborne family is mourning what Chloe will never be. "She had been the neatest little person. And we were loving watching her become the neatest big person," her father said.
The family must also try and explain to death to their youngest daughter, Maddy, who they say idolized her big sister. "We have to tell her Sissy is not coming home. She's not coming home."
The Osborne family says they aren't upset with their pediatrician, just the CDC because of their guidelines.
CBS 11 News left a message with the CDC to find out if the organization might rethink the guidelines because of situations like that of Chloe Lindsey. So far, they haven't provided a response.
In the meantime, the Fort Worth Independent School District has sanitized all classrooms and lockers at Leonard Middle School. School officials have also sent home a letter focusing on flu prevention and ways to keep germs from spreading.
They advised parents to:
• Talk with and teach your child about cough and sneeze etiquette and proper hand washing.
• Get your child vaccinated for seasonal flu and for H1N1 flu when the vaccine is available.
• Remind your child not to eat or drink after their friends at school or in daycare settings.
• If your child is ill, keep him or her at home. This helps everyone.
• And to parents of a child who is at higher risk of catching the flu or developing complications from the flu, be particularly mindful of your child's health.
