An Omaha family is urging people to get the flu shot as their daughter continues to fight for her life after getting the virus two years ago.The young mother has been unresponsive and is now in long-term care.Her family said it all started with a flu diagnosis.Last year, Douglas County saw a record low flu season, but this year, they say many have let their guards down. Vaccinations are down and cases are surging.This family said their daughter’s life may have been different if she’d have gotten hers.“She got her CT scan yesterday. So, it’s not worse, but it’s not better,” said Vicky Bookout, Crystal’s mom.Hospital beds have been the reality for crystal Velasquez after a flu diagnosis two years ago.“Crystal is at Madonna now. And she was on a vent, but now she’s on the extended care. Where she’ll be, I mean, the rest of her life,” Bookout said.Now 38, her family said she’s been in a mostly unresponsive state since 2019.“It’s even hard to go up there and see her but then it’s harder to leave her,” Bookout said.She’s made some small improvements, they said.“She laughs and she smiles now. And she didn’t do that on the vent unit. But she’s doing it now,” Bookout said.But her life is vastly different than it was before.A Seahawks football fan, lover of music and giving soul, Velasquez’s family says she started to feel sick in early December 2019.After getting medication for her influenza diagnosis, they say she was sent home.Then, they say she went back for a chest X-ray, which revealed pneumonia, but was again, sent home.“She came by the house and said she couldn’t breathe. And she was coughing. She couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t do anything,” Bookout said.Her mom said she was rushed to the hospital and intubated that shock to her body caused her to have a stroke.Those moments would be some of the last her mom would have with her while conscious.“She did tell me she didn’t want to die because she just had a bad feeling that something was wrong,” Bookout said.”You don’t ever think this is going to happen to your child, especially from the flu.”Bookout said the recovery has been hard and she believes the flu shot could have helped.“I think if she’s have had the shot, I think she had a better chance that she when she got so sick, where she couldn’t breathe because she couldn’t breathe, she got to the hospital. So, I don’t think people understand unless they go through it or see someone in that state or have a loved one that state of mind,” Bookout said.They hope their daughter will continue to improve and want others to take every virus seriously and get vaccinated.It could save your life.“I know people that don’t believe in those shots, the flu shots, and that’s up to them. And I have nothing against him for that. But I know it’s not going to stop me,” Bookout said.To help the family financially, click here.According to the health department, almost 50% of the county’s flu cases were reported in the last week. Most pharmacies give out the shot for free.
An Omaha family is urging people to get the flu shot as their daughter continues to fight for her life after getting the virus two years ago.
The young mother has been unresponsive and is now in long-term care.
Her family said it all started with a flu diagnosis.
Last year, Douglas County saw a record low flu season, but this year, they say many have let their guards down. Vaccinations are down and cases are surging.
This family said their daughter’s life may have been different if she’d have gotten hers.
“She got her CT scan yesterday. So, it’s not worse, but it’s not better,” said Vicky Bookout, Crystal’s mom.
Hospital beds have been the reality for crystal Velasquez after a flu diagnosis two years ago.
“Crystal is at Madonna now. And she was on a vent, but now she’s on the extended care. Where she’ll be, I mean, the rest of her life,” Bookout said.
Now 38, her family said she’s been in a mostly unresponsive state since 2019.
“It’s even hard to go up there and see her but then it’s harder to leave her,” Bookout said.
She’s made some small improvements, they said.
“She laughs and she smiles now. And she didn’t do that on the vent unit. But she’s doing it now,” Bookout said.
But her life is vastly different than it was before.
A Seahawks football fan, lover of music and giving soul, Velasquez’s family says she started to feel sick in early December 2019.
After getting medication for her influenza diagnosis, they say she was sent home.
Then, they say she went back for a chest X-ray, which revealed pneumonia, but was again, sent home.
“She came by the house and said she couldn’t breathe. And she was coughing. She couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t do anything,” Bookout said.
Her mom said she was rushed to the hospital and intubated that shock to her body caused her to have a stroke.
Those moments would be some of the last her mom would have with her while conscious.
“She did tell me she didn’t want to die because she just had a bad feeling that something was wrong,” Bookout said.
“You don’t ever think this is going to happen to your child, especially from the flu.”
Bookout said the recovery has been hard and she believes the flu shot could have helped.
“I think if she’s have had the shot, I think she had a better chance that she when she got so sick, where she couldn’t breathe because she couldn’t breathe, she got to the hospital. So, I don’t think people understand unless they go through it or see someone in that state or have a loved one that state of mind,” Bookout said.
They hope their daughter will continue to improve and want others to take every virus seriously and get vaccinated.
It could save your life.
“I know people that don’t believe in those shots, the flu shots, and that’s up to them. And I have nothing against him for that. But I know it’s not going to stop me,” Bookout said.
To help the family financially, click here.
According to the health department, almost 50% of the county’s flu cases were reported in the last week. Most pharmacies give out the shot for free.
