Jun 15, 2009 11:00 pm US/Eastern
Natick Boy Speaks About Battle With H1N1
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
When he coughed a lot and felt hot, it was just the beginning for 9-year-old Hugh Campbell of Natick. He became the 193rd case of swine flu in Massachusetts.
On May 15, the same day Memorial Elementary School sent home a letter confirming a case of swine flu, Hugh became another confirmed case.
"All of a sudden his eyes dropped, he felt warm, about 102 and a half. I immediately called the pediatrician," his mother Patty Malone told WBZ-TV.
With 1,153 confirmed cases in Massachusetts Hugh is a face behind the statistics. He had trouble breathing and says his throat felt tight. But most troubling for his family is the fact he has asthma and had recently recovered from pneumonia, meaning he had underlying health issues that could cause problems.
"They were saying those were the children at most risk for having complications, so I was very worried," said his mother.
For Hugh the news made him nervous with all the attention the virus was getting in the media.
"I thought that something was going to happen to me and I did not feel great at all," he said.
Hugh was put on the antibiotic Tamiflu, and his fever quickly began to drop. He didn't require hospitalization, but his family kept him at home for a week.
Several other students at his school came down with flu-like symptoms and were ordered to stay home for a week as well.
Hugh is now fully recovered, but it was a stressful experience for his family with the unpredictability of the flu.
"He was kind of wearing it as a badge of honor that he survived," his mother said.
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