Aug 9, 2009 11:08 pm US/Pacific
Mom: Swine Flu Victim Was Sent Home Twice From ER
WOODLAND, Calif. (CBS13) ―
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Stacy Hernandez, 30, was a healthy mother of two kids, according to family members.
CBS
The family of Yolo County's first swine flu fatality says that the victim was a healthy 30-year-old mother who was sent home from a local hospital twice before she succumbed to the illness.
Stacy Speegle Hernandez died Friday of complications from an infection of the H1N1 virus, commonly known as the swine flu, according to the Yolo County Health Department.
"My baby's gone," said Tamara Brooks, Stacy's mother. "[She was] 30 years old. Healthy, healthy 30-year-old woman. Within seven days, my baby's gone."
Brooks said she was told Stacy had swine flu after her first visit to the Woodland Memorial Hospital emergency room on July 31st, but hospital staff told her on subsequent visit to the emergency room on Monday, August 3, that they never told her she had contracted the H1N1 virus.
By that time, Stacy had developed pneumonia, but Brooks said she was given antibiotics and sent home the same day. When Stacy's mother took her to an Esparto clinic on Wednesday, August 5, her condition was so critical that doctors immediately called an ambulance and had her checked into a hospital.
Their efforts came too late, and Stacy died from complications of the disease on Friday, August 7.
Brooks said Stacy's two children lost their father seven years ago and still don't fully understand that their mother is dead. She said she believes Stacy's death could have been prevented if her symptoms had been taken seriously.
"They tell us first that she has swine, and then the second time they tell us she doesn't," Brooks said. "Then she gets pneumonia, and now my baby's dead."
"First of all, sending her home with pneumonia… yeah, I think [her death] could have been prevented," she added. "I think my baby would be here."
Brooks said she has hired a lawyer, but is not planning to pursue litigation until Stacy is buried.
Officials with Woodland Memorial Hospital declined to comment on Stacy's case, citing privacy laws. They also declined to comment on the typical way they would handle a swine flu case.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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