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An Ohio mother urges other families to vaccinate their children against the flu after the death of her 4-year-old son.
According to the Center for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC), dozens, if not hundreds, of children die every year from complications related to the flu.
"That figure does not seem like much until it's your child," Laura Sidari told InsideEdition.com.
His son Leon, age 4, was one of 183 children who lost their lives because of the flu from the 2017 to 2018 season.
"I have never seen a healthy child decompensate like that," said Sidari, remembering his death. "Certainly not so fast."
由 Laura Therese 于 2018 10 6 日 周六
She explained that Leon was like any other 4 year old boy. He loved running, playing football, watching movies with his mother and taking care of his younger brothers, Tristan, now 2, and Cameron, now 11 months old. Leon also rarely got sick.
Leon felt good on the last day before the winter break at his daycare, but started to have flu-like symptoms the next day.
"He complained of muscle pain and fever," recalls Sidari. "We gave him chicken and noodle soup and Pedialyte. He was watching cartoons on the couch, a normal illness, nothing special. "
Sidari and her husband, who are both doctors, said they planned to vaccinate their family against the flu all season, but they pushed back that because they juggled life with three kids and the next Christmas season. In fact, they had a doctor's appointment a few days later to get the flu shot.
"All seasons, my kids were vaccinated, but they just fell through the cracks," she said. "All of my children have been vaccinated and I am a big proponent of immunization because of my medical training, but I was not aware of the serious risk the flu poses to healthy people and children."
The next morning, on Christmas Eve, it became clear that Leon's health was deteriorating.
His mother explained that he was beginning to have trouble breathing, so they took him to the emergency. There, the doctors diagnosed him with flu and bacterial pneumonia.
A few hours later, early on Christmas morning, Leon was dead.
"We did not see it coming," Sidari said. "When we went to the hospital, we were expecting him to come home. He still had his pajamas right next to his bed.
She and her family are now encouraging others to prioritize an influenza vaccine before it's too late.
Receiving the influenza vaccine will not only reduce the chances of getting the flu by 40 to 60%, it will also reduce the risk of hospitalization due to influenza-related illnesses up to 82%, according to the CDC.
"I would give anything as a mother for that [chance]Sidari said, "You can not wait for medical care, you have to warn them.
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