Khaberni - A 4-year-old girl passed away due to severe complications arising from influenza virus infection, leading to pneumonia and blood poisoning.
Medical reports relayed by CNN disclosed that the victim, Elora Rod, was in perfect health prior to the infection and had a double infection including "Adenovirus," which rapidly deteriorated her health despite emergency medical interventions.
The tragedy began on Christmas Day
The story started on Christmas Day when her mother "Sarah Rod" first fell ill with influenza at their home in Ogden, Utah, where symptoms lasted about a week, and then the infection gradually spread to the rest of the family, consisting of 4 children.
14-month-old Dani developed intermittent fevers, followed by their father Michael, then the three older children on January 1st.
Sarah says: "Eli was the healthiest of all my children, she had no medical issues, no eczema, no tooth decay, nothing at all."
Sudden and rapid deterioration
Signs of improvement appeared on Elie and her 3-year-old brother Kyler after a dose of ibuprofen on the first morning, but their condition worsened the next day with a severe rise in temperature.
On January 2nd, Ellie lay on the couch, and when her mother moved her to the bed, her brother Kyler came saying: "Mom, Ellie needs you".
Ellie's cough turned into a sharp bark, prompting her mother to rush her to the local hospital, where tests showed she was infected with both influenza and adenovirus, and her blood oxygen level was only 85%, leading doctors to keep her under observation.
From bad to worse
Ellie coughed all through the night, and in the early hours of the morning, she began to complain of lower abdominal pain, and while the doctors were preparing to discharge her from the hospital, her oxygen level dropped again, and she began vomiting blood.
X-rays showed she had pneumonia in one of her lungs, and she developed bloodstream sepsis causing severe inflammation in the body, then Ellie was airlifted to Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake City, where she was put on an ECMO device to support her heart and lungs.
The final moments
On January 5th, the doctors informed the family about blood clots formed in Ellie’s heart, but her condition was too critical for surgery.
They discussed the use of blood thinners despite the dangers due to previous internal bleeding, but the attempt was unsuccessful, and 12 hours later, Elie suffered a massive brain stroke that stopped all activity in the left side of her brain.
Sarah says: "The disease struck her quickly and very harshly, there was no good moment, everything was going from bad to worse."
Alarming statistics and a message from Ellie’s mother to parents
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that at least 32 children have died from influenza this season so far, noting that 90% of the deceased children were not fully vaccinated, with rates of hospital admissions for children and teenagers at their highest peak in 15 years.
This tragedy prompted the Rod family to reconsider their decision not to get the flu vaccine.
Sarah says: "Get flu vaccines, even if they don't work this year, they might have helped Ellie a little, next season we will consider getting the vaccine for our children and ourselves, I wasn’t scared of the disease before, but now I am terrified."
Ellie will be buried in a blue and white Princess Elsa dress, a last gift from her aunt to a little girl who loved life, dancing, and playing in the mud.
Necessary precautions
Experts in infectious diseases emphasized the need to monitor three vital signs in infected children: breathing pattern, muscle effort around the neck, and neurological activity or lethargy, in addition to body hydration levels.
Doctors advise an immediate medical review if a child continues to feel fatigued even after the temperature has reduced with pain relievers, warning that simple cases can turn into serious complications within a few hours.
