A couple in Weatherford, Texas, never thought they were going to pass through such a hard moment. Heather Holland, the wife, decided to wait a couple more of days to see if time could cure her of the flu since the medicine was too expensive for her. Unfortunately, she passed away on Sunday, February 4. Now gone, she left not only her husband but also her two children.
Ms. Holland started feeling sick at the beginning of the week before she died, on Monday. The woman, at first, decided to wait a couple more of days and went to the doctor on Wednesday. As her husband, Frank told the Weatherford Democrat, she was then diagnosed with the flu and prescribed with proper alimentation, rest, and Tamiflu – which is an antiviral medication commonly used to control the flu.
When Ms. Holland went to the drug store, she was told that the medication she was looking for cost $116. However, the mother of two, and the previously-second-grade teacher at Ikard Elementary School in Weatherford thought it “cost too much” to be bought. She refused to pay it and returned home with her family. The following morning, on Thursday, Mr. Holland went back to the pharmacy and got the Tamiflu for her wife.
Hoping that the remedy was effective enough, the couple returned to their normal lives as anything was happening. However, as Frank said, the “things escalated” so much on Friday night he decided to take Heather to the ICU. In here, the doctors got the “blood cultures back,” and they “put her on dialysis early Saturday.”
Not many hours passed since then when Heather’s body had already gone into septic shock, leading her to die on the following day. She left a husband, a 10-year-old daughter, and a 7-year-old son.
“I have to be strong for the kids but it’s still surreal, it hasn’t all set in. We’ve been together a long time, over half my life. She’s my best friend, my soulmate, my everything, “Mr. Holland said. “It hasn’t set in with them yet either.”
According to Frank, her wife loved her job. She was passionate about children, education, and had a bright-vision of their future. She was devoted to her small community in the Texas town. She “loved helping people, helping the kids, and the kids loved her.” Heather’s family will not be the only one who will miss the teacher.
Sadness across the county
The day after Ms. Holland died, Charlotte LaGrone, a Weatherford Independent School District’s spokesperson, said she never thought the teacher was going to die so suddenly. As she noted in a statement, Monday was a “difficult day” for the people at the campus, who are now working their “processes” to care for “students, parents, and staff.”
Likewise, counselors at the school Ms. Hlland used to teach, the Weatherford Ikard Elementary, said they would also offer their help throughout the week for the students who need to be comforted.
Weatherford ISD, on the other hand, noted that they are going to seriously take different precautions to avoid other people – children and adults – contracting the flu, which has already killed several people of all ages across the entire US.
“Our campus custodians have been deep-cleaning our schools since December, and the campus where the teacher worked underwent another deep cleaning on Friday, Feb. 2,” the district noted on the statement released Friday 9. “We continue to remind students and parents of healthy habits during the cold and flu season.”
One of the worst flu seasons
Federal health officials have already stated that this 2017-2018 season America has faced one of the worst in the entire US history and for sure the most deadly in this last decade. The CDC has released recorded about 60 children from several states who have passed away after flu complications.
Authorities believe that people should get the vaccine against the virus, although this one does not 100 percent prevent them from getting infected. According to officials, this represents a few chances to prevent citizens and to raise the general defenses.
After Ms. Holland died, the marketing director for the hospital district, Kathleen Durham, announced the institution was going to vaccinate about 500 to 600 people freely. She considered this situation as “tragic” for the entire city and country.
Durham said that they have given about “15,000 to 16,000 flu shots this year in the county,” adding then that more people are coming day by day asking to get vaccinated.
“I will say that the number of students who typically get vaccinated actually decreased this year and last year but we feel like that’s because the FluMist hasn’t been on the market the last two years,” Durham said.
Source: Weatherford Democrat