Every year we’re warned about the dangers of the flu. Children, the elderly, pregnant women, and those with chronic illness are most at risk for developing complications related to the flu.
It’s a dangerous illness that’s not always taken seriously, but one family from Iowa is changing how they look at it after their four-year-old daughter contracted the virus.
On Christmas Eve, Jade Delucia of Waterloo, Iowa complained to her parents that she wasn’t feeling well. She took Tylenol, drank some fluids, and rested, but on Christmas morning when her parents found her unresponsive she was rushed to the hospital.
“They didn’t think anything of it because I think the highest her fever had gotten at home was 100,” Courtney Frey, Jade’s grandmother, told KWWL.
They made it just in time because once they arrived at the hospital Jade began seizing.
She was flown to the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital.
Jade underwent several tests which revealed a startling diagnosis–Jade had influenza B. It was in her lungs, brain, and optic nerve.
“It was touch and go she just couldn’t breathe, the flu had built up in her lungs, her brain had swelled,” Frey said.
An MRI showed “extensive brain damage” and doctors were unsure of her condition when she woke up, but after two weeks of being hooked up to machines Jade opened her eyes.
“She opened her eyes and she started to move her little hands and we just started to see a little more of her come back to us,” Frey said.
While Jade is not out of the woods yet–she’s currently unable to see–her family has asked for continued prayers and support.
“Oh how my mother and grandmother heart cries out, often times a helpless moan,” Frey wrote in a Facebook group. “Then, in His arms I am comforted and in His messages from you I am renewed. Thank you isn’t enough for what your support means.”
A GoFundMe has been set up to help Jade’s family pay for her medical expenses and keep themselves afloat while she continues to recover.
Let Jade’s horrible story be a reminder to everyone that the flu should be taken seriously!
I pray that this sweet, little girl continues to heal. Share this story to send your prayers.
