A student’s personal story, plea for people to get flu shot
Spring Break month is here, another popular travel holiday. As a student preparing to journey to gather with friends or home to see loved ones, it is important to get a flu shot beforehand. I would like to share a personal story on why I advocate for doing so. Ten years ago this past December, influenza almost claimed the life of my then five-year-old sister, Caroline. A few days before winter break 2012, Caroline came home from school with mild cold symptoms. Within a few hours, Caroline’s symptoms worsened, and breathing became more difficult. In the middle of the night, my parents took her to the local hospital where she was diagnosed with influenza A and double pneumonia. She was given oxygen to help with her breathing. This hospital staff felt they were not equipped to deal with this severe pediatric case, and Caroline was transferred to a larger local hospital. Her symptoms worsened at the second hospital, and she slipped into accurate respiratory distress syndrome. She was intubated, and the hospital informed my parents that nothing more could be done for her. She was then airlifted via helicopter to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and placed on an oscillating ventilator. She remained intubated and on a ventilator for nearly two weeks.
