November 6, 2009

6-year-old Ian Berger puts on a brave face as a nurse gives him more medicine. If you watch his chest, you can see him struggling to breathe. IVs and heart monitors are attached to his little body, monitoring his oxygen level and breaths per minute.

Ian is in the pediatric ICU. He has a severe case of pneumonia brought on by the H1N1 virus. He's one of 8 kids in the pediatric unit at Via Christi-St. Francis.

Ian's illness came on quickly. His mom dropped him at a Halloween party. Two hours later it hit. He had a temperature of 104. The next day Ian was gasping for air. His parents rushed him to the emergency room.

For the last few months the pediatric unit has been busy. Many times all the beds are full. H1N1 is hitting young adults and children hard.

To give perspective, the seasonal flu killed more than 1,600 Kansans last flu season. From September 26 through October 24, 2009, 163 Kansans died from influenza and pneumonia. In one week influenza and pneumonia killed 49 Kansans--that's nine percent of all deaths in the state that week. The Kansas Department of Health & Environment admits there is no other flu virus going around, making it clear many, if not all of the 163 deaths were caused by H1N1.

Ian has asthma, putting him at a higher risk. The good news is he's getting better, he was released from the hospital this week. Doctors say 99 percent of us will get the virus, be sick for a few days then recover. But there are signs that you need to get to the hospital or a doctor;

--Temperature of 102 degrees or higher for more than two days.

--Having a hard time breathing

--Skin turns blue or pale

--Vomiting won't stop.

Ian's mom is hanging on, hoping her little boy with the big dimple gets well soon.