25 year old mother from Lancaster, Dallas County- confirmed

[kiwibird]

Lancaster Mother May Be Latest Swine Flu Death


NBCDFW.com
updated 6:19 a.m. ET Oct. 4, 2009

A Lancaster woman who died Friday evening may be the latest Swine Flu casualty in Dallas County.

More than a week ago on Sep. 21, Debra Hatchel realized something was wrong with her daughter, 25 year old Heather Provorse. She had a fever and a cough. Taking no chances, she took her daughter to the hospital.

"I asked the doctor, "I said is this just the regular flu, is this swine flu, or what is this?" said Hatchel. "And he said that he thought it was swine flu because the last few days they'd really been bombarded with a lot of people coming in with the same symptoms that I brought her in with."
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Hatchel said doctors sent Heather home with no prescription for Tami-flu.

"I even asked him are you sure she doesn't need it and he told me that he felt that she could go home and take Motrin and Tylenol and cough medicine, and if she did not get better to bring her back," said Hatchel.

Provorse's condition got increasingly worse.

"Her lips were kind of a little bit purple," said Hatchel. "So I immediately called the ambulance."

Hatchel said on Monday doctors confirmed her daughter did in fact have the swine flu. By Friday, after eight days in the hospital, Provorse died.

"My daughter was a high risk patient. She had asthma as a child, she's had respiratory issues for a while and she was very overweight."

Even knowing these pre-existing health issues, Hatchel still wonders if the outcome could have been different.

"I don't know that it would have been different if they had given her Tami-flu Tuesday when I first took her. I don't know if we would be where we are right now," said Hatchel.

She hopes there are lesson to be learned from her daughter's battle and her incredible loss.

"I don't want any other family to go through what we're going through because people just don't listen. It just doesn't make sense," said Hatchel.

Provorse leaves behind an 8-year-old son. Her family has set up a memorial fund in her name to help cover the young mother's funeral expenses.

The fund is set up through Bank of America and its called the Heather Provorse Memorial Fund, account number 488023714076.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33162241/ns/local_news-dallasfort_worth_tx/

[Shiloh]

Re: 25 year old mother from Lancaster, Dallas County

Source: http://www.kvue.com/news/state/stori...1e797e538.html

TV: Dallas mother dies from swine flu

06:09 AM CDT on Monday, October 5, 2009

By MONIKA DIAZ / WFAA-TV

SWINE FLU DEATH
October 5th, 2009
Monika Diaz reports

DALLAS - A 25-year-old Lancaster mother is the sixth swine flu related death in Dallas County.

Under to Center for Disease Control guidelines, Heather Provorse wasn't considered high risk, which meant she wasn't qualified to receive Tamiflu. For those not considered high risk, it could take weeks or several months before Tamiflu will be available.

"I would give anything to hold her, tell her how much I love her," said Deborah Hatchel, Provorse's mother.

Hatchel took her sick daughter to the hospital on September 22. She had a high fever and a cough. While Hatchel said doctors suspected she was ill with the swine flu, they didn't prescribe the low-stocked Tamiflu.

"He said it was being used for high-risk patients and he felt that my daughter would be okay to take the Motrin and Tylenol," she said. "She had sleep apnea real bad and breathing difficulties and she was obese, and to me those are three things that put somebody at high risk."

Hatchel and Provorse, who has an eight-year-old son, went home. Two days later, Provorse wasn't getting better and Hatchel decided to call her primary doctor. He prescribed an antibiotic, but still no Tamiflu. That night, she dialed 911.

"She didn't know where she was at and her lips were turning purple," Hatchel said.

Provorse was on a ventilator for eight days, but she didn't make it.

Now, her mother said she is left wondering if Tamiflu could have saved her life.

"I think she would have had a better chance of fighting," Hatchel said. "Whether the outcome would have been the same, only God knows that, but I think it would have given her a chance to fight."

Last week, 14-year-old Chloe Lindsey also died from swine flu last week. Just four days after she fell ill, the Tarrant County teen died. She had no underlying health conditions at the time and she too was unable to get Tamiflu because she wasn't considered a high-risk patient.

The CDC considers someone high risk if they are under the age of two and over 65. Pregnant women and people with chronic health problems and those under 19 who have received long-term aspirin therapy are also considered high-risk patients.

Trinity Christian Academy of Addison and the Pantego Christian Academy in Arlington, both of which closed down last week over flu concerns, will reopen Monday.

E-mail mdiaz@wfaa.com