Son’s Tragic Death Drives Navy Father to Promote Influenza Vaccinations, Provider Awareness
By Sharon Holland
To most people, autumn means Halloween, pumpkins, Thanksgiving, apple cider and brilliant foliage. But to Navy Cmdr. (Dr.) Henry Lin, autumn means the onset of flu season and time to remind parents about the importance of getting their children vaccinated.
It also serves as a constant reminder of his son, Trevor, who died in 2009, a victim of the H1N1 swine flu pandemic. Trevor was among the 282 American children who died from the H1N1 flu in the 2009-2010 season. That pandemic was the first since 1968 and killed more than 200,000 people worldwide. In the U.S. alone, more than 61 million were infected and 12,000 died.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), seasonal influenza kills between 3,600 and 49,000 people in the U.S. each year, and between 250,000 and 500,000 globally. With seasonal flu, people under age 2 and over age 65 are more at risk, along with those who have underlying health problems.Trevor did not fit the criteria.
Trevor was an active 7-year-old boy who loved to swim, jump off the high dive, enjoyed spending time with his two older siblings and had no other medical problems.
"He was one of the healthiest kids," Henry said.
On October 29, 2009, 11-year-old Ashley Lin, Trevor’s sister, complained of shortness of breath that stopped her in her tracks while walking to catch the bus after school. She also developed a cough.
The next day, Trevor, too, developed a cough. Both of their coughs were mild, and seemed to improve in time for trick-or-treating the next night. But early in the morning on Nov. 1, Trevor’s cough morphed into more of a bark; he also developed a fever and found it hard to breathe. Henry turned on the hot shower to try to allow the steam to alleviate his symptoms, but to no avail. Trevor’s coughing episodes continued over the next few hours and, deeply concerned, Henry took Trevor, Ashley, and his other son, Ryan, to the emergency room.
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| Navy Cmdr. (Dr.) Henry Lin with (center) with his children, Ryan (left), Trevor (center) and Ashley (right) in 2009, prior to Trevor’s death from H1N1 swine flu. (Image credit: courtesy of Henry Lin) |
The two ill children were evaluated. Trevor was diagnosed with croup and treated with a nebulizer and IV steroids. H1N1 influenza was discussed as a possible diagnosis, but the ER physician interpreted the CDC guidelines to mean that only high-risk patients – children with underlying health conditions, or pregnant women – were eligible for the anti-viral therapy. Trevor had no prior health problems.
While still in the ER, Trevor once again experienced shortness of breath and his fever climbed to 103.7. Normal heart rate for children his age is 60-100 beats per minute. Trevor’s increased to an abnormal rate of more than 120 beats per minute. However, his blood oxygen levels remained at normal levels so no x-rays or lab tests were performed.
After a while in the Emergency department, Trevor showed signs of improvement and asked to go home. Ashley also felt better and Ryan had no symptoms at all. Once back at home, Trevor’s symptoms improved and his coughing lessened. He was also no longer experiencing shortness of breath.
The next afternoon, Ashley saw Trevor walking unsteadily and then witnessed him fall. She immediately ran to help and discovered his lips and fingers were blue. Trevor was rushed by ambulance to the nearest ER, but despite resuscitation attempts, he was pronounced dead within two hours of his collapse.
Later, Henry got confirmation from the CDC that Trevor did indeed have swine flu. Tragically, Trevor had not been vaccinated because the vaccine was not yet available to children in the community.
Since Trevor’s death, Henry has campaigned to improve criteria for evaluation of children with influenza by health care practitioners. He is also pushing to improve criteria for hospitalization of children with the flu to minimize the numbers of previously healthy children who die from the virus after being evaluated by a health care practitioner. Through his efforts, he hopes that physician organizations will provide working guidelines expeditiously, despite having incomplete information during medical crises or epidemics.
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| A bronze bench and statue of Trevor Lin, inscribed “Families Fighting Flu,” sits in the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center’s America Building as a reminder of the importance of flu vaccination. (Image credit: courtesy of Henry Lin) |
"If Trevor's tragedy prevents more deaths … if there are changes because of his situation, I'd be very grateful," Henry said.
For more information on influenza and available resources, visit: tricare.mil/flu.
