Young mother dies one day after being diagnosed with the flu
‘Her passing was completely unexpected’
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Your support makes all the difference.A young mother from Phoenix, Arizona has tragically passed away just one day after contracting the flu.
Alani Murrieta was 20-years-old and had no pre-existing health conditions when she started feeling unwell.
She was rushed to hospital after she began encountering breathing difficulties and was subsequently diagnosed with pneumonia by doctors who quickly put her on a ventilator.
However, the mother-of-two’s condition had already deteriorated beyond repair and she died eight hours later.
Murrieta and her young children began to feel ill on Monday when her sister promptly took them all to the doctor, explains Murrieta’s aunt, Stephanie Gonzales.
“They diagnosed them with the flu, sent her home with flu meds,” she told Fox10.
Shortly after, when Murrieta’s condition had worsened, she returned to the hospital and was given an x-ray.
It was then that doctors realised she had pneumonia.
"They were trying to resuscitate her, and they tried for several minutes and they told my sister there was nothing else they could do, that she was gone,” said Gonzales.
Murrieta’s family are raising funds via GoFundMe to help “make the necessary arrangements” after her sudden passing.
“Alani (Joie) passed away suddenly yesterday afternoon from the flu that turned into pneumonia,” the page reads.
“Our family is devastated that she is gone. Alani was a beautiful loving mother just 20 years old with two young boys AJ 2 years old and JR 6 months old.”
So far, the page has generated more than $15,000 (£11,183) for Murrieta’s family.
Flu is a common infectious viral illness that is typically spread via coughing and sneezing, according to the NHS.
It is particularly common in the UK during the winter months and symptoms can include a chesty cough, aches and pains and a fever.
It typically lasts no longer than a week; however, in rare circumstances such as Murietta’s, fatal complications can arise.
According to the Oxford Vaccine Group, an average of 600 people die from complications of flu every year in the UK.
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