Texas Teacher Contracts Both Strains Of Influenza, Put On Life Support

A woman named Crystal Whitley, 35, from the town of Mullins in Mills County, Texas, is on life support after contracting both strains of the flu virus, ABC-affiliated WFAA reported.

Family and friends of Whitley a special-ed teacher in Mullins were startled to find her on life support in Baylor Scott and White Medical Center in Dallas and were hoping Whitley will pull through.

According to reports on Jan. 22, Whitley was diagnosed with both strains of influenza, H1N1 and H3N2. She then got pneumonia in both lungs. She later picked up the bacterial infection Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA ) which is tough to treat since it is resistant to antibiotics.

Whitley was brought into the medical center and put on the ventilator about two weeks ago.

According to Whitley’s mother, she is making strides in her recovery. Her mother, on Wednesday, said her daughter came off the ventilator for a couple of hours and was able to sit in a chair.

"She's making all of this progress, but [doctors] keep telling us she is still very ill. She is still critical, and she is still on life support,” explained Mary O’Connor, Whitley’s mother.

Despite getting a flu shot in October after giving birth to her youngest son, Whitley still contracted the flu that has so far claimed the lives of several people across the country.

"[The doctor] said if she recovered from this, she could live a pretty normal life. She wouldn't be able to run any marathons. But he didn't know if she would pull through it," Christy Lewis, Whitley’s friend said.

Dallas County has, so far, reported 62 deaths from the flu. The Texas Department of State Health Services reported that since the flu season began in October 2017, 2897 people have died from influenza and pneumonia.

Dr. Anne Schuchat acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the flu season might break some recent records, reports said.

In a call with reporters, Schuchat said: "Flu is incredibly difficult to predict and we don't know if we've hit the peak yet."

"We could still see several more weeks of increased activity," she added

This flu season might be the worst in a decade. The Center for disease control and prevention reported that last week one out of 10 deaths in the country can be credited to the flu fatalities. 63 deaths in children were reported this flu season.

According to federal agencies, the viral strain that’s responsible for a large number of infections is H3N2. This particular virus leads to severe illness and is hard to control with vaccines.

Whitley will most likely face a long hospital stay her mother told reporters.

"I asked them yesterday, and I said, 'I know you don't know for sure, but what are we looking at?" Whitley's mother said.

The doctors said it will probably be months before she recovers from the illness. Family and friends of crystal have set up a GoFundMe page to help with the medical bills.