Boy, 4, becomes youngest Hoosier to die of flu this season
Feb 9, 2013
Braxton Madras was an active 4-year-old. He loved to play, loved to laugh and was ?completely obsessed with Spider-Man,? said his uncle, Douglas Sorenson.
The blond-haired, bright-eyed Lafayette, Ind., boy was generally healthy except for some acute asthma, said his mother, Camey Madras. Even last week, when she and her husband were sick, Braxton showed no symptoms. When the whole family went to an urgent care clinic last Friday morning to get checked out, Madras said Braxton was sent away with medication for a slight ear infection.
Braxton played all day Friday and developed only a slight cough before bedtime. Madras gave him a breathing treatment and put him to bed, but he woke up a short time later with severe vomiting. Around midnight his mom took him to a hospital, where tests and more breathing treatments were done.
He had the flu and pneumonia, Sorenson said. Braxton was flown to IU Health North Hospital in Carmel, where it was discovered that his left lung had collapsed. He needed to go on a ventilator, which required sedation.
?An hourly test was run to make sure the medication was not affecting his brain,? Madras said. ?Braxton?s eye did not dilate the first test, so they stopped the medication, and he shortly started responding and moving his little hands to hold mine, and he was then sedated again.
?The next time they came into the room to do the test, Braxton did not respond. He was given a bunch of tests. This is all a complete blur to me, what happened after that. I know that my baby was pronounced brain-dead.?
Braxton Madras died Monday, the youngest of 47 Hoosiers killed by the flu so far this season. Nationally, 59 children have died from the flu this season, according to reports out Friday.
Feb 9, 2013
Braxton Madras was an active 4-year-old. He loved to play, loved to laugh and was ?completely obsessed with Spider-Man,? said his uncle, Douglas Sorenson.
The blond-haired, bright-eyed Lafayette, Ind., boy was generally healthy except for some acute asthma, said his mother, Camey Madras. Even last week, when she and her husband were sick, Braxton showed no symptoms. When the whole family went to an urgent care clinic last Friday morning to get checked out, Madras said Braxton was sent away with medication for a slight ear infection.
Braxton played all day Friday and developed only a slight cough before bedtime. Madras gave him a breathing treatment and put him to bed, but he woke up a short time later with severe vomiting. Around midnight his mom took him to a hospital, where tests and more breathing treatments were done.
He had the flu and pneumonia, Sorenson said. Braxton was flown to IU Health North Hospital in Carmel, where it was discovered that his left lung had collapsed. He needed to go on a ventilator, which required sedation.
?An hourly test was run to make sure the medication was not affecting his brain,? Madras said. ?Braxton?s eye did not dilate the first test, so they stopped the medication, and he shortly started responding and moving his little hands to hold mine, and he was then sedated again.
?The next time they came into the room to do the test, Braxton did not respond. He was given a bunch of tests. This is all a complete blur to me, what happened after that. I know that my baby was pronounced brain-dead.?
Braxton Madras died Monday, the youngest of 47 Hoosiers killed by the flu so far this season. Nationally, 59 children have died from the flu this season, according to reports out Friday.