A 36-year-old mother-of-two died of the flu last week, just two days after she started feeling ill.
Tandy Harmon was admitted to an Oregon hospital last Wednesday with flu symptoms, but by Friday she had developed additional pneumonia and MRSA and died.
Only about three percent of flu hospitalizations happen among adults under the age of 49.
More than 30 children have died of the flu this year, including two in Oregon, as hospitalizations continue to soar despite the CDC’s hopes that we have passed the epidemic’s peak.
Tandy Harmon, a mother of two, was only 36 years old when she died two days after developing flu symptoms
Harmon’s illness came on quickly, according to reports from Fox12 in Portland.
Her co-worker Brad Fauts told the local news station that she had been ‘in great spirits’ and had ‘a slight cough, but nothing was slowing her down’ last week.
Then, Wednesday, Harmon took a turn for the worse, and went to the hospital for treatment.
Doctors there told her that rest and hydration should be enough to help the mother of two recover.
It is unclear whether or not Harmon was diagnosed with the flu or had been vaccinated against it.
Just two hours later, Harmon’s condition had deteriorated and her boyfriend, Steven Lundin, had to take her back to the emergency room.
There, doctors ‘immediately put her on a ventilator and from there she just went downhill,’ Fauts said.
Harmon had developed pneumonia and MRSA, an staph infection that had gotten into her blood stream and was extremely resistant to antibiotics.
MRSA usually begins with boils and bumps on the skin, but if the blood gets infected if causes similar symptoms to the flu, such as fever, chills and muscle and body aches.
Having the flu may weaken the immune system, leaving people more vulnerable to the infection.
Tandy Harmon’s (left) boyfriend Steven Lundin (right) took her back to the hospital on Wednesday after doctors sent her home to rest
Harmon was put on life support hours after returning to the hospital. By Friday, her 12-year-old son, 11-year-old daughter and boyfriend had to say their final farewells
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) website says that ‘the risk of developing an MRSA infection after influenza appears to be very low,’ but that the agency is continuing to research and track the relationship between the two.
This year has seen the greatest number of flu-like illnesses since 2010.
The dreaded ‘Aussie flu,’ H3N2, has risen above epidemic levels, accounting for more than eight percent of deaths in the US last week.
The CDC expressed optimism that after an additional 14,401 people were sickened last week, the worst might finally be behind us, but this week’s mounting death toll suggests that may not be the case.
If the flu virus moves into the lungs, it can cause pneumonia, a potentially fatal lung infection.
Harmon’s condition continued to decline, and she was on life support by Wednesday evening, Fauts told Fox12.
New statistics released on Friday (pictured) show the rate of people with influenza-like illnesses is soaring, not dipping, as the CDC had hoped. The rate is now the highest since 2010
By Friday, it became clear to doctors that she was not going to get better and her 11-year-old daughter, 12-year-old son and boyfriend gathered at the hospital to say their final farewells.
‘I was in shock,’ Fauts said, ‘All the people that knew her were in shock. I mean, it was just incredibly sad,’ he told Fox12.
Harmon’s family set up a GoFundMe page to collect donations to help pay for funeral and healthcare costs.
Adults between 18 and 49 years old account for only about three percent of hospitalizations, according to the CDC.
But Harmon’s tragic case is a wake up call that anyone can be vulnerable to the virus, especially this year’s aggressive H3N2 strain.
Fauts urged: ‘Don’t mess around with this flu. If you feel something wrong in your body, go to the doctor and insist that they see you.’
Though this year’s shot is estimated to be only about 34 percent effective, the CDC continues to recommend that getting the vaccination is the best protection possible.