Mother Who Lost Daughter To Flu Warns Parents Of Influenza Dangers

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A mom from Washington is asking parents to familiarise themselves about the dangers of influenza and to get their children vaccinated before it’s too late – in the wake of two pediatric flu deaths.

The Oregon Health Authority confirmed on Thursday they were separate cases.

One child was younger than 10, another younger than five. The Health Authority could not disclose the childrens locations because of confidentiality reasons.

“Flu season is particularly hard,” Rebecca Hendricks told reporters “The flu, this season, is running rampant.”

In 2014, Hendricks lost her 5-year-old daughter, Scarlet, to the flu.

The Mother remembers that December day clearly.

Her daughter’s school had called her and said Scarlet had a fever and needed to be sent home.

Hendricks monitored her daughter’s health over the next few days.

“She was still active, still drinking [fluids], eating, hanging out. There wasn’t anything that triggered, ‘Oh, my God, this was serious,'” Hendricks said.

A day later, Hendricks said that her daughter suddenly had trouble breathing.

“I woke my husband up and said, ‘I’m taking Scarlet to the hospital,’” Hendricks recalled. “She died four hours later.”

Her daughter’s sudden death completely shocked the Hendricks family.

The family now leads a group known as The End-Fluenza Project, (previously known as the Fight the Flu Foundation), which empowers families through education and awareness of influenza.

Hendricks says that the group regularly visits schools and hospitals, and organizes a number of education campaigns targeting parents with young children.

Neither Hendricks nor her four kids received flu shots prior to losing her daughter.

But ever since, her mother has made sure Scarlet’s brother and sisters get flu shots every year.

She doesn’t know if getting Scarlet vaccinated would have made any difference, but she wishes that she would have had the chance to find out.

And with talk of varying effectiveness, Hendricks recommends getting the shot, rather than not.

“The year my daughter died, it was only 7-percent effective,” Hendricks said. “I would take 7-percent over no protection at all.”

She said that her daughter wanted to be a famous singer and dancer when she grew up.

Now, Hendricks hopes that her daughter’s story will make a difference.