Friends and family are mourning after a six-year-old girl who caught the flu last month died over the weekend.
More than $70,000 has been raised through a GoFundMe to support Danielle Mei Cabana’s family during this heartbreaking time.
According to the fundraiser, Danielle died Saturday.
“It is impossible to comprehend what our friends are going through right now. In due time, we will pay our respects and honour the beautiful soul that [Danielle] is and forever will be,” the GoFundMe reads. “The Cabana family is the heart of the community, always there for anyone. Now it’s our turn to be there for them.”
Richmond News reported that the girl was taken to the hospital last week because she appeared to still be fighting the flu after her sisters had recovered. The local paper said Danielle was moved to the ICU where she was diagnosed with myocarditis due to the flu.
Danielle received two heart procedures and began to breathe on her own, but passed way after suffering a stroke, Richmond News reported — citing a private Instagram post from Danielle’s father.
Daily Hive has reached out to the family for comment.
Richmond Ravens Female Hockey shared its condolences for Danielle, who played for the team.
“Danielle has been a bright light within our Richmond Ravens family since the day she was born – from watching her two older sisters on the ice to showing her own amazing talent. Her radiant and loving personality has touched us all in one way or another,” a Facebook post reads.
During a press briefing with Dr. Bonnie Henry Monday, she was asked for comment regarding Danielle’s death. However, Henry admitted she did not know the details of this incident.
Henry added that she is aware several children who were severely ill because of influenza have faced secondary bacterial infections that cause pneumonia and, at times, meningitis.
“So, very severe infections that have sometimes very tragic outcomes,” she added.
“It’s always heartbreaking to hear about severe illness in young children. And that’s why it is so important to do the best that we can to protect them.”
During her briefing, Henry said the province is seeing an early increase in influenza — particularly the Influenza A virus — this winter.
She added that this past week, the province has heard from pediatricians from BC Children’s Hospital and hospitals around the province that have reported witnessing severe cases of influenza, and in some cases, complications from influenza.
This is why Henry is urging British Columbians to get vaccinated against influenza.
“We still have time to blunt the impact of this transmission by getting people vaccinated.”
Join Adrian Dix, Minister of Health, Dr. Bonnie Henry, Provincial Health Officer, and Dr. Penny Ballem, Executive Lead, Immunize BC Vaccine Operations, for an update on protecting children through the influenza season. https://t.co/kBznnTAtoA
— BC Government News (@BCGovNews) December 5, 2022
In recent weeks, many parents in Metro Vancouver have been vocal about the frustrating experiences they face when visiting emergency health care for their children.
They’ve said BC’s hospitals are too overwhelmed with patients to provide adequate care.
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Health Minister Adrian Dix said there has been an increase in emergency room visits at BC Children’s Hospital and the Fraser Health Authority, “which is the result of it being respiratory illness season.”
“In terms of pediatric and neonatal ICU, it’s been relatively stable in November and December against September and October. Overall we’re seeing approximately 200 people more a day in terms of our daily census in hospitals across BC,” he explained.
To make matters worse for parents trying to keep their children safe this flu season, the children’s Tylenol shortage in Canada has not been easy to navigate.
Empty shelves of children’s pain and fever medicine have plagued drugstores for the past few months, leaving parents stressed.
People are slowly beginning to see restocked shelves after Minister of Health Jean-Yves Duclos announced last month that over one million units of children’s pain relief medicine have arrived in the country, and an additional 500,000 is expected to land in the coming weeks.
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