The worst thing possible...

"Chariotoflove" (chariotoflove) 01/11/2020 at 20:30 • Filed to: Grief

6

37

...is to lose a child. My good friends/ neighbors just lost their little girl. She was a beautiful, sweet, smart 17 year old high school junior with a bright future ahead of her. She had the flu the last few days. Her dad is a pediatrician, and she was getting proper care. She was on   tamiflu and had been feeling better. She even felt well enough to get up and shower.

Then her heart just stopped.

She got prompt emergency care, but they couldn’t revive her. There is no explanation. No consolation. Otherwise healthy kids shouldn’t be able to just die. But they do.

Hug your  kids tonight if you have them and thank God for them. Maybe say a prayer for those who have lost theirs.

$kaycog > Chariotoflove 01/11/2020 at 20:36

2

Yes, the worst thing possible.  That is so sad.

My bird IS the word > Chariotoflove 01/11/2020 at 20:37

1

Good reminder that any day could be your last. I don’t find death too tragic unless they ’re young.... just awful.

Chariotoflove > My bird IS the word 01/11/2020 at 20:40

0

My parents came just that close to losing me at 20. Now that I have my own, understand what they were feeling. 

Censored > Chariotoflove 01/11/2020 at 20:41

2

Holy crap. Prayers for sure. Give them an oppo hug. Life is so fragile.

Chariotoflove > Censored 01/11/2020 at 20:43

0

I will. 

Maxima Speed > Chariotoflove 01/11/2020 at 20:50

2

Oh man. Thats so sad. Definitely will be praying for the family. I used to tough through the flu’s but now I immediately go to the doctor if i get it and get them to put me on the meds. Last two years I’ve needed an inhaler for it. 2 years ago by the time i went to the doctor they were surprised i wasn’t in the hospital due to low oxygen from extreme congestion. Doc told me I should be passed out on the floor. I told him I did feel light headed. Anyways yeah, I realizd there were a couple times the night before, that I could have died that’s when i decided i wasn’t messing around anymore. So sorry for their loss man.

facw > Chariotoflove 01/11/2020 at 20:55

3

Awful. I don’t even know what you can say in that situation...

I assume as the daughter of a doctor, she was vaccinated and it just wasn’t effective , but as a reminder for everyone else, the CDC recommends the vaccine for anyone 6 months or older (with rare exceptions):

https://www.cdc.gov/flu/prevent/whoshouldvax.htm

It doesn’t protect against ever variant of the flu, and even for the strains it’s targeted against, it’s only 60% effect, but that is still some protection, and studies have shown it can lead to less severe illnesses when even when it doesn’t prevent infection .

Chariotoflove > Maxima Speed 01/11/2020 at 20:57

1

Thanks. Yes, most of us don’t think of the flu as more than a couple of sick days, but people die from it every year. It’s why doctors are so insistent on getting the flu vaccine. 

Chariotoflove > facw 01/11/2020 at 20:59

2

Yeah, that’s an important PSA because most of us don’t think of the flu as fatal, but it can be. The vaccine is just a best guess every year, but it’s worth it. 

Chariotoflove > facw 01/11/2020 at 21:00

4

And yes, there is nothing to say. We’ll just try to be there for them. 

Nothing > Chariotoflove 01/11/2020 at 21:03

6

Agreed. We lost our daughter when she was three months old. Her twin brother is still with us. My niece recently had to have a pacemaker put in, she had started fainting.

You know what’s amazing? How many people think, well, she was only three months old. Aren’t you over it now?

My sympathies to you and your neighbors. 

bob and john > Chariotoflove 01/11/2020 at 21:10

1

oh no...my deepest condolences. 

barnie > Chariotoflove 01/11/2020 at 21:13

1

I just saw a couple way un-typical posts on FB from an old friend and asked him if he was ok. My story ended well, this time. He’s fine just trying new ventures in photography. This, though, is rough. My condolences to them and you. We all gonna die, some are takin’ way too early...

gettingoldercarguy > facw 01/11/2020 at 21:15

3

“The majority — 85 percent — of this influenza season’s 30 pediatric flu deaths occurred in children who did not receive a flu shot, CDC Director Brenda Fitzgerald, MD, told Reuters.”

XJDano > Chariotoflove 01/11/2020 at 21:19

2

I am sad to hear this. Thank you for sharing though. It is tough to hear as a parent, but a reminder to us all that life is fragile. 

Condolences to your friend. 

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > Chariotoflove 01/11/2020 at 21:20

1

That is so terrible...my sincere condolences to them. Such a sudden loss of a promising young life...

Chariotoflove > Nothing 01/11/2020 at 21:21

1

I had no idea. There is no getting over that. Ever. You just find a way to live with it.  God bless you guys and the child you still have. 

Chariotoflove > bob and john 01/11/2020 at 21:22

0

On their behalf, thanks. 

RacinBob > Chariotoflove 01/11/2020 at 21:24

1

It puts things in perspective. Thanks for sharing. 

Chariotoflove > barnie 01/11/2020 at 21:25

0

Thanks, it’s sad enough when we lose someone who had led a full life. So much worse when they are taken so young. 

Chariotoflove > XJDano 01/11/2020 at 21:26

0

Thanks. Here’s to lots more good years with our own. 

Chariotoflove > RacinBob 01/11/2020 at 21:27

0

Yeah, I figured that was at least a tiny little something I could do. 

facw > gettingoldercarguy 01/11/2020 at 21:28

1

Scary. There is apparently the problem that this years’ season started early (especially in the South) so hit people who might have been vaccinated later, but terrible regardless.

WilliamsSW > Chariotoflove 01/11/2020 at 22:35

1

That’s awful. I’m so, so sorry for their loss. 

shop-teacher > Chariotoflove 01/11/2020 at 23:09

1

That is absolutely the worst thing possible. My deepest condolences to the family.

phenotyp > Chariotoflove 01/11/2020 at 23:24

1

Every parent’s worst fear.

Since becoming a dad six years ago, the number of horrific scenarios that go through my head hourly has risen exponentially, and it’s not like I was lacking before. But you (or, at least, I) think about the things I could have prevented, or should have had the foresight to prevent, and then there’s this. The unforeseeable. The unpreventable.

I’m so sorry to hear this. Hug your kids every chance you get. And give those parents anything possible. I know they need it. 

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > Chariotoflove 01/12/2020 at 00:07

2

This is sad to hear, but thanks for sharing it here. It is a good reminder that things can happen at anytime to anyone. One of my best friends just got home after spending the better part of the last in month in the hospital out in your area. He was an otherwise healthy enough dude in his late 30's that got a dissected aorta, but was caught quick enough to be fixed. Things could have very easily ended for him.

Nothing > Chariotoflove 01/12/2020 at 00:09

1

Thank you very  much. It never gets better, but it does get easier. This year was a tough one, though.

Chariotoflove > shop-teacher 01/12/2020 at 01:11

0

On their behalf, thank you  

Chariotoflove > phenotyp 01/12/2020 at 01:13

0

That’s what I think all the time. I told my girl I needed to give her extra hugs tonight. 

Chariotoflove > ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com 01/12/2020 at 01:18

1

That should make you appreciate life. A dissected aorta is very  often fatal.

just-a-scratch > Chariotoflove 01/12/2020 at 02:27

1

That’s terrible.

It reminds me of a resident advisor in my college dorm. I had seen her at the end of the school week and she seemed well. By Sunday she had died from a nasty bacterial infection.

I’m not sure there is a way to prevent that kind of thing. It’s shocking and sa d when it happens.

Best wishes for you, your friends and neighbors.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Chariotoflove 01/12/2020 at 07:41

1

As my daughter gets closer to leaving for college, I am developing anxiety about her leaving the relative safety of our home. Now I have to worry about her at home! I can’t imagine losing either of my kids. My condolences to your friend. 

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > Chariotoflove 01/12/2020 at 09:21

1

Very sad and I hope it never happens to me.

I have to wonder if this girl had some sort of heart problem that went undetected.

My kids are teens now as well so knock on wood.

Chariotoflove > just-a-scratch 01/12/2020 at 14:15

0

Thank you on their behalf. 

Chariotoflove > TheRealBicycleBuck 01/12/2020 at 14:17

1

On their behalf thank you. It’s sobering. I have the same anxiety. 

Chariotoflove > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly 01/12/2020 at 14:18

0

I hope it never does too.