The Great Smoky Mountain Journal

Staff, Wire Reports

Posted: Sunday, January 21, 2018 07:26 PM

Healthy 20-Year Old Arizona Mother Of Two Dies Days After Being Diagnosed With Flu

Family members of an Arizona mother who died just one day after being diagnosed with the flu said the 20-year-old was very healthy leading up to her illness, with the exception of suffering from the occasional cold. Alani Murrieta, who leaves behind a 2-year-old and 6-month-old, had started complaining of symptoms on Sunday, Fox 10 reported.

“Monday she was still feeling sick, so her sister took her to urgent care, her and her kids,” Stephanie Gonzales, the woman’s aunt, told Fox 10. “They diagnosed them with the flu, sent her home with flu meds.”

HEPATITIS A OUTBREAK PROMPTS SAN DIEGO TO BUILD GIANT TENTS FOR ITS HOMELESS

By Tuesday, Murietta was taken to the hospital by her mother where she was diagnosed with pneumonia and her condition continued to deteriorate. She was placed on a ventilator but never recovered.

“Never in a million years would we have thought we would have lost her that day like this,” Gonzales told the news outlet, adding that Murrieta had not received the flu shot this season.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that everyone 6 months and older receive the flu vaccine, with recent stats reporting 24 states with local influenza activity, and four with widespread activity.

A GoFundMe account has been set up to help relatives cover Murietta funeral expenses.