Re: Re: Insidious H1N1 propaganda in Column One of the LA Times today

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Re: Insidious H1N1 propaganda in Column One of the LA Times today

That's what we call propaganda... It shows how important it is to read between the lines : "Although she was overweight, she was healthy" - When you are overweight, you are rarely healthy..."Over the next few weeks, doctors diagnosed pneumonia and gave her antibiotics and the antiviral drug Tamiflu." - In other words, they overloaded and weakened her immune system, which was already trying to get rid of toxins..."We gave her everything; it just got worse and worse," - They gave her everything, which probably means tons and tons of drugs... No surprise she got worse...How sad. This woman is another victim of the health care system. Not a victim of H1N1.Marieve >> http://tinyurl.com/yfcmvny> > A family left behind by the H1N1 virus> > Virginia Romo was pregnant with her sixth child when she caught the > swine flu. Her husband and children, raising the baby on their own, > are still stunned at how swiftly the disease took her from them.> > By Shari Roan> > February 8, 2010> > > > On a rainy January day, Romo, 15, feeds her five younger > brothers and sisters an early dinner and tidies the kitchen while > waiting for her father to return from work. One of the children > vacuums the living room, maneuvering around a large box of diapers. > Another sibling holds the baby.> > When the father, , arrives home, he's carrying a couple of bags > of groceries, enough for a day or two. He rubs his youngest son's > head affectionately, and pulls the infant into his arms.> > He seems bewildered by the turn his life has taken. "I miss my wife > very much," says , a quiet man who speaks halting English. > Looking around the cramped living room, he adds: "She was half my life."> > Just inside the door of the two-bedroom, second-floor Santa > Anaapartment sits a tabletop shrine crowded with devotional candles. > The candles depict Our Lady of Guadalupe and the Sacred Heart of > Jesus; dried roses droop in a vase. It pays forlorn but faithful > tribute to Virginia Romo, the wife and mother who died in July at age > 38.> > The cause of death was pneumonia, believed to have been a > complication of the H1N1 virus she caught last spring at the dawn of > the outbreak. One of about 11,000 swine flu deaths nationwide, Romo's > in many ways typifies the pandemic. She was young, poor, pregnant and > Latina.> > "She was always so healthy," says , 40, who is now raising six > children -- ages 15 years to 7 months -- on his own. "I don't know > what happened. I don't understand."> > He gestures to the apartment's homey living room, decorated with > elaborate draperies, framed paintings and religious icons. "Virginia > did everything for us," he says. "She was always so happy."> > As health officials begin to tally the score card from the 2009 > pandemic, some facts are becoming clear. The virus was not as lethal > as feared; most of the 55 million cases in the U.S. were mild. Nor > did it primarily fell the elderly and infants, as most flu viruses > do. Instead, swine flu targeted younger adults, with the majority of > deaths among people ages 18 to 64.> > It saved its worst for pregnant women.> > They have been hospitalized at four times the rate of the general > population and have died at six times the average rate, according to > various estimates. In a study of 63 pregnant women in California who > were hospitalized with H1N1 between April 23 and Aug. 11,61 were so > sick they were placed in intensive care. Seventeen died.> > "The deaths among pregnant women are devastating. This is supposed to > be a great time in their lives. Then the mom dies and the baby > survives," says Dr. Janice Louie, chief of the influenza and > respiratory diseases section of the California Department of Public > Health. She was author of a study, published in January in the New > England Journal of Medicine, analyzing the effects of H1N1 on > pregnant and postpartum women in California.> > In many of the lethal cases in pregnant women, the illness struck > swiftly, leaving families and widowed husbands in shock. Six months > after his wife's death, still sees reminders of her > everywhere. Her prenatal vitamins sit on the kitchen counter.> > He manages to care for the children, though he works weekdays at a > factory that makes tortilla machines and recently resumed three > evening shifts a week as a busboy at a Newport Landing restaurant. A > friend of Virginia's who lives with the family cares for the baby, > the 5-year-old twins and her own two children until comes home > from school. When the friend leaves for her job, is in charge > until returns.> > "I used to work five or six nights at the restaurant, but now I have > to watch the babies," says as the twins pester him to go out > for doughnuts. "My older daughters have to go to school, and they > have homework to do."> > It's been hard to explain to the twins what has happened, he says.> > "At first, I told them their mother was in Mexico. Now, I'm trying to > explain it to them, little by little. I tell them, she's with God in > the sky. But they still say, 'Where's Mama?' "> > A sticker on the door to the family's apartment reads, "Este Hogar es > Catolico." This home is Catholic.This home is Catholic. Devoted to > their faith, and Virginia welcomed every child as a gift from > God.> > They met as children in the village of San el Alto in Jalisco, > Mexico. was born there. The family moved to Santa Ana where > a, 14; Cristian, 12; and 5-year-old twins Giovanni and Yareli > were born. In late 2008, Virginia became pregnant again.> > For most of her pregnancy, Virginia felt fine. Although she was > overweight, she was healthy; she had even quit smoking. Then, in the > late spring, she came down with what appeared to be a bad cold. In > mid-June, her cough turned nasty. She complained of chest and back > pain. She often lay in bed all day with the lights off instead of > bustling around the apartment cleaning. Normally unfazed by the noise > in a home with five kids, she asked to keep the children quiet.> > She had obtained regular prenatal care with Medi-Cal insurance, and > she made a few visits to a physician about her respiratory symptoms. > She soon began to complain of shortness of breath. On July 3, one > month before the baby was due, Virginia's condition worsened.> > "When I got home, my daughter told me to take Virginia to the > hospital," recalls. "Virginia was scared. She said she > couldn't breathe."> > The couple went to Western Medical Center in Santa Ana, and Virginia > was admitted at 2 a.m. on July 4, about six weeks after her first > symptoms and about 10 days after they became severe. The doctor noted > the symptoms on the admission summary: coughing up yellow sputum, > fever of 101, shortness of breath. A chest X-ray showed lung congestion.> > Doctors gave her oxygen and IV fluids and began to run tests.> > 'I'm sure this was H1N1," says Virginia's obstetrician, Dr. Su, > of Santa Ana. "H1N1 had just come around. We didn't know which group > of people it would hit. It's not like the typical flu. Every year, we > have pregnant patients with flu and bronchitis and coughs and colds. > They don't usually die."> > Early on July 5, got a call from the hospital. "They said, > 'Can you be here in 10 minutes? We have to do surgery right away,' " > recalls. He rushed to the hospital. Virginia had gone into > acute respiratory distress. The baby was delivered in an emergency > caesarean section, a few weeks premature but at 5 pounds, 8 ounces > otherwise healthy. Virginia was intubated and taken to intensive care.> > "These women are so sick, a lot of them have to be delivered in the > ICU," Louie said of the H1N1 pregnancy cases. "As the fetus grows, it > pushes up on the lungs, and a pregnant woman has less room to expand. > This predisposes them to not being able to cough as well."> > Hormones and the immune system also change during pregnancy, which > makes it harder for pregnant women like Virginia to fight infection. > Further, statistics released earlier this month by the state > Department of Public Health show that in California, Latinos have > been twice as likely as whites to die from H1N1, in part because they > have less access to healthcare and are more likely to have other > chronic health problems or wait longer to seek help.> > Virginia was rarely conscious after being admitted to the hospital. > Over the next few weeks, doctors diagnosed pneumonia and gave her > antibiotics and the antiviral drug Tamiflu, which is recommended for > H1N1 treatment in pregnant women as well as other patients. She had > aggressive lung treatments and was placed in a bed that could be > rotated to turn her upside down, creating more room in her lungs and > allowing mucus to dislodge.> > "We gave her everything; it just got worse and worse," Su says. "The > lung tissue was just shot."> > Several mornings a week, would drop off at the hospital > and she would spend the day at her mother's bedside.> > "It was so hard to see her there. I would talk to her and just hope > she would be listening to me," says. "I would tell her, 'The > baby is fine; just get better.' "> > Virginia died alone early on July 22.> > Six days later, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention > issued its first bulletin alerting doctors to an increased risk of > complications among pregnant women with H1N1.> > The baby -- Virginia -- is beautiful. Everyone says so. She's a good > baby, says. She only fusses a little now and then because she's > teething. The children vie for turns holding her.> > recalls how thrilled her mother was at the prospect of another > child. She has resolved to make sure her baby sister knows this.> > "When she took the pregnancy test, she was so happy," recalls. > "She said it was probably her last baby because of her age."> > As she waits for her father on this rainy day, sweeps rice and > Froot Loops off the plates, washes them and places them in the dish > rack. She opens the door and yells to the younger children to stay > out of the street. It's sunset, the showers have stopped, and food > vending trucks selling tortillas and candy are lining up at the curb.> > A good athlete, had wanted to play softball after school this > spring, but now that's not possible. She still manages to get good > marks in her 10th-grade classes and loves science and math.> > Someday, she says, she would like to be a midwife.> > shari.roan@...>