Swine flu claims 13th victim
Family of Vered Basson baffled by otherwise healthy 27-year-old's death as result of H1N1 virus, says had she been hospitalized in intensive care sooner it might have saved her life
"She should have been hospitalized in intensive care earlier. It could have saved her life. If she had been hooked up to a monitor and placed under more intensive medical attention, things could have turned out differently," said her brother Yossi Giron.
Vered married Avichai Basson a little more than a year ago and moved to Rishon Lezion with her husband. Avichai said that he cannot understand why the doctors did not diagnose her sooner, adding that his wife was otherwise healthy, suffering from no chronic illnesses.
"We were naïve and we believed them. We believed the doctor who examined her the first time in the emergency room. He told her it was just an ordinary flu and sent her home to take pain killers. We believed that she was receiving the best and most appropriate treatment in the hospital. I can't understand how they didn't detect the disease. They did blood tests, they took x-rays, but didn't understand what she had," explained Avichai.
Vered's father said that his daughter began feeling ill last week, but was only hospitalized over the weekend. "The first doctor who examined her at the beginning of the week, following a fever and difficulty breathing, said that we should wait another day. A doctor who examined her on Tuesday already heard murmurs in her lungs and sent her to the emergency room at Assaf Harofeh. There, they just gave her medication to lower her temperature and sent her home."
The father added that once his daughter's condition worsened, the family again took her to the doctor on Friday and received the go ahead for hospitalization. In the hospital, she was put on oxygen and kept in isolation. He noted that the doctor who examined her on Saturday said there was no need to place her in intensive care. "We understood that she was transferred to intensive care only Sunday morning, but then it was too late already," said the father.
"We are still in shock from this blow. We can't seem to process what has happened," said the father, adding that the family has yet to issue a demand that the case be investigated.
Assaf Harofeh Medical Center offered the following statement: "The young woman came to the hospital the first time on Tuesday, at which time no justifiable reason for hospitalization was found.
"When she was examined on Saturday, she suffered from a cough, a sore throat and a fever. She was stable, but x-rays revealed that she had pneumonia, and therefore, she was hospitalized. She was examined Sunday at 6 am, and was in stable condition. Two hours later, the young woman lost consciousness and all efforts to resuscitate her were to no avail. After she passed away, an autopsy was performed at Abu Kabir Forensic Institute, and it was found that she died from severe pneumonia."
The Health Ministry said that contrary to other swine flu deaths in Israel, it can be clearly established that the patient did not suffer from a chronic disease and died from a swine flu complication. It was also reported that the young woman was overweight and regularly smoked cigarettes.
Yael Branovsky contributed to this report
