Classes cancelled, campus a ghost town, sporting events half full. It’s safe to say this semester on our college campuses, and on campuses around the country things are not the same.
Flu has wiped out a lot of the usual activities.
It’s worrisome for both of us—because in our family, it’s ‘not just the flu’.
For us, flu is different—it’s deeply personal. Before either of us were born, my parents lost our sister Jessica to the flu when she was only four years old.
Jessica and our older brother, Eric who was two at the time both came down with a virus which was later confirmed as the flu that was going through their pre-school. Both recovered after a few days, but a couple of weeks later, Jess was sick again. My parents brought her to the hospital on the advice of our doctor, who was concerned she may have been dehydrated.
However, once at the hospital, they ran a slew of tests and discovered Jess’ heart was enlarged. At the time, her heart was still beating—until it stopped suddenly. The doctors worked to revive Jess, but they were unsuccessful.
The loss of Jessica has defined our family ever since. But our parents turned that grief into action and were among a small group of parents who all had lost kids to the flu around the same time and formed Families Fighting Flu—a now national organization with a mission to keep influenza from impacting any other family. The best way to do that is through vaccination.
Neither Jessica nor Eric was vaccinated when they got sick—not because my parents didn’t believe in vaccines, but because at the time, kids their age were not recommended to get vaccinated. My parents and the rest of Families Fighting Flu worked hard to change that—and our family stories played a large part in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to changing the recommendation for the annual flu vaccine to include everyone 6 months and older to be vaccinated.
Clearly, in our family getting our flu shot is just something we always do. But it’s clear that’s not the case for our classmates.
It’s frustrating to know that so much of the illness that’s going around campus, and the country can be prevented. It’s frightening knowing that so many people are sick, and the complications that can result from the flu—missed classes and other events, yes but also more serious impacts like cognitive and mental health issues, long term lung issues and amputations.
We try and tell our friends our story, so that they understand how serious flu can be and the very real impact that it has had on us our entire lives.
We continue to urge everyone to get a flu shot—even now it’s not too late. As many of our classmates are planning spring break trips—that plan must include getting vaccinated.
Whether you’re heading home or heading somewhere warm—you don’t want to bring the flu with you.
It’s easy to think that you’re invincible when you are our age. But it’s not just young kids and older people who are susceptible to the flu. Our friend Kaitlyn, who we know through Families Fighting Flu because she lost her cousin to the flu and is a freshman at the University of Florida nearly died in October from the flu.
Johnny Stein is a Senior at Purdue University. Katie Stein is a Sophomore at Indiana University. Both are volunteers with Families Fighting Flu.
Contact info:
Johnny Stein
Johnstein0524@gmail.com
Katie Stein
kjs17x@gmail.com
