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Swine Flu Victim's Family Speaks

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  • Swine Flu Victim's Family Speaks

    Swine Flu Victim's Family Speaks

    Posted: 8:47 pm EST December 1, 2009
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    For days, 33-year-old Lisa Briggs had symptoms. She had chills, fatigue, spiking fevers -- but she didn't want to go to the hospital and leave her family.

    "She didn't want to be in the hospital, away from the kids," said her husband, Chris Briggs.

    On Halloween night, Lisa, a mother of two, agreed to go to the hospital.

    After days in Wheeling Hospital, Lisa was life-flighted to Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown, W. Va. Her condition was so bad she was quarantined in a glass room.

    "She was in an isolation room. They did a wash-out of her lungs and she did test positive for swine flu," said Briggs.

    Doctors also discovered that Lisa had bacterial pneumonia. Doctors induced a coma after her condition deteriorated. Before she went under, her husband of 11 years came to her side.

    "I just told her I loved her and to get better," said Briggs.

    She never regained consciousness.

    "We saw them do CPR on her and everything," said Briggs

    On Nov. 14 at 10:35 a.m., the doctor told Lisa's family she had passed.

    "His exact words were, 'She played good ball, but the game was over'," said Briggs.

    Lisa and her husband had just bought a new house in Weirton, W. Va. She never lived in it. Now, her family fills the walls of their new home with lasting memories of her.

    "She loved kids. Pretty much her life revolved around me, the kids and church," said Briggs.

    He said her only underlying medical condition was sleep apnea. It's unclear where she contracted the virus.

    "Safety and security don't just happen, they are the result of collective consensus and public investment. We owe our children, the most vulnerable citizens in our society, a life free of violence and fear."
    -Nelson Mandela
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