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Source: http://www.wdbj7.com/Global/story.asp?S=11972252
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February 11, 2010
A mother's story: My daughter died from H1N1
Jasmine Stone died in October.
A mom takes her 16-year-old daughter with flu symptoms to the doctor and within a week the teen is dead. How did it happen?
Jasmine Stone died in October. Obviously, her mother wants answers, but she also hopes her story might help prevent this from happening to other families.
"There is no other pain like losing a child and to watch them die," said Veronica Cooper.
She watched her daughter, Jasmine, take her last breath.
"I heard her hit the floor. She fell face down. I flipped her over and she was dead," said Cooper.
That's how Jasmine's life ended, after being sick for a little more than a week , with flu-like symptoms.
"H1N1 never crossed my mind until I got her death certificate," said Cooper.
Veronica took her daughter to Rockbridge Pediatrics in Lexington where she learned Jasmine had Influenza A, but she says no one said it was the H1N1 virus, which is a subtype of Influenza A.
"They gave her Tamiflu, which they give everybody to treat the flu," said Cooper.
The protocol for treating seasonal flu and H1N1 are the same, usually with anti-viral medications.
That was a Thursday, by Sunday Jasmine was worse, chest discomfort, abdominal pain.
Her mother, Veronica, says she was so sick they headed to the emergency room at Carilion Stonewall Jackson Hospital, where a physician examined her.
"The chest x-ray came back, it was fuzzy. He said he didn't see a reason to re-do it. Her lungs were clear.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Jasmine had at least two emergency warning signs for H1N1.
Pain or pressure in the chest or abdomen and flu symptoms that improve but then return with fever and a worse cough.
"He said she had pulled a muscle under her ribs. He gave her two Percocet, wrote a prescription for Vicodin and sent her home," said Cooper.
Veronica feels doctors didn't do enough.
"By her being diabetic, a little more attention should've been paid to her having flu and a fever and her blood pressure being that high," said Cooper.
Add to that, Jasmine's weight, all factors putting her in a high risk category.
According to Jasmine's death certificate, the immediate cause of death was cardiorespiratory arrest, underlying causes, asthma, Influenza A H1N1, and medication non-compliance. Other contributing factors: morbid obesity, hypertension and diabetes.
Carilion released this statement to News7:
"Due to patient privacy laws, we cant comment on any specific case. Last fall, all patients who tested positive for influenza-A were treated with the assumption they had H1N1 influenza, including the use of anti-viral medications and hospitalization when necessary. We understand that Ms. Stones family has experienced a tragic loss, and we offer our condolences for the pain they are suffering. "
Rockbridge Pediatrics, where Jasmine initially went for treatment and was diagnosed with Influenza A, issued this statement to News7:
"The Rockbridge Pediatrics family extends our sincerest sympathies to the family, but due to Federal HIPAA Privacy laws, we are unable to comment on the history, diagnoses or treatment of any patient..."
"I watched my baby take her first breath and I watched her take her last. That's the hardest thing I've ever had to do," said Cooper.
Veronica says Jasmine tried to get the H1N1 vaccine. But Jasmine's doctor's office didn't receive the vaccine until October 31, four days after her death. Now Rockbridge Pediatrics has hundreds of doses available.
While the spread of H1N1 has slowed since Jasmine's death in October, the virus is still circulating in our community.
***********************
What we can all learn from Veronica Cooper's story
Veronica Cooper feels the medical community let her down, but she also feels that she let her daughter down.
Her pain and guilt have made her a prisoner in her own home. She hopes if we examine what went wrong in this case, the rest of us can avoid a similar fate.
"This is my baby's new home," said Cooper.
She made a permanent memorial to her daughter, Jasmine, inside her home, an urn with her ashes is surrounded by memories of the 16 year old.
"This right here, she had this since she was born," said Cooper.
A Mother's Day poem from the fifth grade.
"It says you pick me up when I am down. You make me laugh when I need you to, you are there when I need you most," said Cooper.
But these days, Veronica feels like she failed Jasmine.
"I wish I had listened to her," said Cooper.
To understand Veronica's pain, you have to realize that she watched Jasmine die in their home in October, just days after coming down with the flu. It turns out it was H1N1, a subtype of Influenza A.
"There is no pain like watching your child take their last breath, 16 years old and her life is over, and I've begged God, why," said Cooper.
Veronica has many questions about her daughter's death.
She first took Jasmine to Rockbridge Pediatrics in Lexington on a Thursday. A doctor diagnosed her with Influenza A, and put her on the anti-viral medication Tamiflu.
Three days later, Jasmine was feeling even worse and visited the emergency room at Carillion Stonewall Jackson Hospital. Two days after that she died.
Veronica feels like she didn't do enough, and that's why she wants other parents to hear her story.
"Just pay a little extra attention if they tell you even after going to the doctor that they are not feeling good. That it's getting worse, take that heed and take that child back," said Cooper.
Veronica regrets not asking for another chest x-ray when her daughter went to the ER at Stonewall Jackson.
"He said he didn't see a reason to re-do it, her lungs were clear," said Cooper.
She regrets not questioning the doctor more about Jasmine's abdominal pain, one of the H1N1 emergency warnings signs according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
She also regrets on the night of Jasmine's death, not getting up the first time and taking her back to the hospital, instead of telling Jasmine she should wait until the morning.
"She came back, she laid on the side of the bed and said 'Mommy, I love you, something is wrong.' She went than five minutes I hear screaming at the top of her lungs, 'Mommy please help, please help me, something is wrong,'" said Cooper.
Minutes later Jasmine died. According to her death certificate: the immediate cause of death was cardiorespiratory arrest. Underlying causes: asthma, Influenza A H1N1, and medication non-compliance. Other contributing factors morbid obesity, hypertension, and diabetes.
Carilion, which owns Stonewall Jackson Hospital, released this statement about Jasmine's death:
"Due to patient privacy laws, we cant comment on any specific case. Last fall, all patients who tested positive for influenza-A were treated with the assumption they had H1N1 influenza, including the use of anti-viral medications and hospitalization when necessary. We understand that Ms. Stones family has experienced a tragic loss, and we offer our condolences for the pain they are suffering. "
Rockbridge Pediatrics, where Jasmine initially went for treatment had this to say:
"The Rockbridge Pediatrics family extends our sincerest sympathies to the family, but due to Federal HIPAA Privacy laws, we are unable to comment on the history, diagnoses or treatment of any patient..."
"I feel like I'm abandoning her if I leave home, it's like I'm guarding her ashes for some reason. I fell like I let her down," said Cooper.
Veronica is left with grief and a mountain of "What Ifs."
(click above to access video)
February 11, 2010
A mother's story: My daughter died from H1N1
Jasmine Stone died in October.
A mom takes her 16-year-old daughter with flu symptoms to the doctor and within a week the teen is dead. How did it happen?
Jasmine Stone died in October. Obviously, her mother wants answers, but she also hopes her story might help prevent this from happening to other families.
"There is no other pain like losing a child and to watch them die," said Veronica Cooper.
She watched her daughter, Jasmine, take her last breath.
"I heard her hit the floor. She fell face down. I flipped her over and she was dead," said Cooper.
That's how Jasmine's life ended, after being sick for a little more than a week , with flu-like symptoms.
"H1N1 never crossed my mind until I got her death certificate," said Cooper.
Veronica took her daughter to Rockbridge Pediatrics in Lexington where she learned Jasmine had Influenza A, but she says no one said it was the H1N1 virus, which is a subtype of Influenza A.
"They gave her Tamiflu, which they give everybody to treat the flu," said Cooper.
The protocol for treating seasonal flu and H1N1 are the same, usually with anti-viral medications.
That was a Thursday, by Sunday Jasmine was worse, chest discomfort, abdominal pain.
Her mother, Veronica, says she was so sick they headed to the emergency room at Carilion Stonewall Jackson Hospital, where a physician examined her.
"The chest x-ray came back, it was fuzzy. He said he didn't see a reason to re-do it. Her lungs were clear.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Jasmine had at least two emergency warning signs for H1N1.
Pain or pressure in the chest or abdomen and flu symptoms that improve but then return with fever and a worse cough.
"He said she had pulled a muscle under her ribs. He gave her two Percocet, wrote a prescription for Vicodin and sent her home," said Cooper.
Veronica feels doctors didn't do enough.
"By her being diabetic, a little more attention should've been paid to her having flu and a fever and her blood pressure being that high," said Cooper.
Add to that, Jasmine's weight, all factors putting her in a high risk category.
According to Jasmine's death certificate, the immediate cause of death was cardiorespiratory arrest, underlying causes, asthma, Influenza A H1N1, and medication non-compliance. Other contributing factors: morbid obesity, hypertension and diabetes.
Carilion released this statement to News7:
"Due to patient privacy laws, we cant comment on any specific case. Last fall, all patients who tested positive for influenza-A were treated with the assumption they had H1N1 influenza, including the use of anti-viral medications and hospitalization when necessary. We understand that Ms. Stones family has experienced a tragic loss, and we offer our condolences for the pain they are suffering. "
Rockbridge Pediatrics, where Jasmine initially went for treatment and was diagnosed with Influenza A, issued this statement to News7:
"The Rockbridge Pediatrics family extends our sincerest sympathies to the family, but due to Federal HIPAA Privacy laws, we are unable to comment on the history, diagnoses or treatment of any patient..."
"I watched my baby take her first breath and I watched her take her last. That's the hardest thing I've ever had to do," said Cooper.
Veronica says Jasmine tried to get the H1N1 vaccine. But Jasmine's doctor's office didn't receive the vaccine until October 31, four days after her death. Now Rockbridge Pediatrics has hundreds of doses available.
While the spread of H1N1 has slowed since Jasmine's death in October, the virus is still circulating in our community.
***********************
What we can all learn from Veronica Cooper's story
Veronica Cooper feels the medical community let her down, but she also feels that she let her daughter down.
Her pain and guilt have made her a prisoner in her own home. She hopes if we examine what went wrong in this case, the rest of us can avoid a similar fate.
"This is my baby's new home," said Cooper.
She made a permanent memorial to her daughter, Jasmine, inside her home, an urn with her ashes is surrounded by memories of the 16 year old.
"This right here, she had this since she was born," said Cooper.
A Mother's Day poem from the fifth grade.
"It says you pick me up when I am down. You make me laugh when I need you to, you are there when I need you most," said Cooper.
But these days, Veronica feels like she failed Jasmine.
"I wish I had listened to her," said Cooper.
To understand Veronica's pain, you have to realize that she watched Jasmine die in their home in October, just days after coming down with the flu. It turns out it was H1N1, a subtype of Influenza A.
"There is no pain like watching your child take their last breath, 16 years old and her life is over, and I've begged God, why," said Cooper.
Veronica has many questions about her daughter's death.
She first took Jasmine to Rockbridge Pediatrics in Lexington on a Thursday. A doctor diagnosed her with Influenza A, and put her on the anti-viral medication Tamiflu.
Three days later, Jasmine was feeling even worse and visited the emergency room at Carillion Stonewall Jackson Hospital. Two days after that she died.
Veronica feels like she didn't do enough, and that's why she wants other parents to hear her story.
"Just pay a little extra attention if they tell you even after going to the doctor that they are not feeling good. That it's getting worse, take that heed and take that child back," said Cooper.
Veronica regrets not asking for another chest x-ray when her daughter went to the ER at Stonewall Jackson.
"He said he didn't see a reason to re-do it, her lungs were clear," said Cooper.
She regrets not questioning the doctor more about Jasmine's abdominal pain, one of the H1N1 emergency warnings signs according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
She also regrets on the night of Jasmine's death, not getting up the first time and taking her back to the hospital, instead of telling Jasmine she should wait until the morning.
"She came back, she laid on the side of the bed and said 'Mommy, I love you, something is wrong.' She went than five minutes I hear screaming at the top of her lungs, 'Mommy please help, please help me, something is wrong,'" said Cooper.
Minutes later Jasmine died. According to her death certificate: the immediate cause of death was cardiorespiratory arrest. Underlying causes: asthma, Influenza A H1N1, and medication non-compliance. Other contributing factors morbid obesity, hypertension, and diabetes.
Carilion, which owns Stonewall Jackson Hospital, released this statement about Jasmine's death:
"Due to patient privacy laws, we cant comment on any specific case. Last fall, all patients who tested positive for influenza-A were treated with the assumption they had H1N1 influenza, including the use of anti-viral medications and hospitalization when necessary. We understand that Ms. Stones family has experienced a tragic loss, and we offer our condolences for the pain they are suffering. "
Rockbridge Pediatrics, where Jasmine initially went for treatment had this to say:
"The Rockbridge Pediatrics family extends our sincerest sympathies to the family, but due to Federal HIPAA Privacy laws, we are unable to comment on the history, diagnoses or treatment of any patient..."
"I feel like I'm abandoning her if I leave home, it's like I'm guarding her ashes for some reason. I fell like I let her down," said Cooper.
Veronica is left with grief and a mountain of "What Ifs."