Alanie "Joie" Murrieta, a 20-year-old mother of two children from Arizona, had passed away on Nov. 28, only a day after she was diagnosed with the flu. Her family describes her as a very healthy woman with no pre-existing health conditions.
Alanie 'Joie' Murrieta Gets Sick
One Sunday morning, Murrieta was sent home early from her work, because she wasn't feeling well. The next day, Murrieta's sister decided to take her to an urgent care clinic, where she was diagnosed with the flu.
The clinic prescribed Murrieta Tamiflu, an antiviral medication that is used to treat influenza A and influenza B viruses. The medication is known to be very effective when it is taken within 48 hours of the infection.
Murrieta's aunt, Stephanie Gonzales, said Murrieta took the medicine as it was prescribed and then went back home to take some more rest.
Gonzales added that Murrieta was coughing a lot when she reached home that day from the clinic. She managed to sleep but she was still coughing throughout the whole night.
Murrieta's Symptoms Worsen
On Tuesday, Murrieta woke up in the morning and informed her mother that she was feeling worse and had difficulty breathing, so her family decided to rush her to the hospital.
When the doctors checked Murrieta, they found her oxygen levels were low. They tried to do an X-ray test and later found that Murrieta had developed pneumonia from the flu.
Murrieta Passes Away
After doctors began to give Murrieta intravenous antibiotics, her condition still continued to diminish. As they tried to transfer Murrieta to the intensive care unit (ICU), her heart just stopped.
Gonzales said that the doctors managed to resuscitate her, but as soon as she was moved to the ICU, her heart stopped again. Murrieta arrived at the hospital about 7 a.m. that day and passed away at 3:25 p.m.
According to Murrieta's family, she was perfectly healthy and did not have any pre-existing health conditions. Murrieta was a mother of two children, two-year-old AJ and 6-month-old Jr.
Flu Deaths In The United States
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the exact number of deaths that were caused by seasonal flu every year remains unclear.
The reasons for this are because states are not required to report individual cases and seasonal influenza is infrequently listed on death certificates of people who died from complications related to flu.
Also, deaths that are related to seasonal flu usually occur one to two weeks after infection because people may develop another infection, or because the flu can cause an existing chronic illness to become worse.
