A mom who lost her 2-year-old daughter to flu has a message for parents to try to ensure this never happens to another family again.
Megan Parks, from Houston, Texas, told Newsweek that her daughter Kennedy was a healthy and vibrant little girl.
“It just was so quick,” Parks, 34, said. “It just didn’t make any sense to us how she was sick with the flu and now she’s gone.”
In February 2023, Parks and her husband Jesse, 41, hosted a Superbowl Sunday party at their house.
The next morning, Kennedy had developed a slight fever and her parents decided to keep her at home from school. On Thursday, Megan took her to the pediatrician, where she tested positive for influenza.
“We were sent home to rest, keep her really hydrated, monitor her breathing, and of course, take her to the emergency room if things escalated,” Megan said.
Over the course of the weekend, Kennedy’s condition worsened. On Sunday, she woke up with blue lips, raising alarm bells for Megan. They headed to the nearest emergency room which was 15 minutes away by car.
“I’m talking to her the whole time…and then about halfway there she stops responding,” Megan recalled. “I jump out of a car and I realize she’s not breathing so I call 911.”
Megan drove to a safer location as instructed—a nearby parking lot—where she started performing CPR. At that moment, a man, who was a football coach, pulled up in his truck and took over.
“We waited for the ambulance to come, and they worked on her for a while, but ultimately we ended up losing her,” Megan said.
“[It was] like a movie where they come in, and they tell you that there’s nothing else that they can do,” Megan said. “It was just shocking because at this point, it kind of hadn’t clicked yet that this was because of the flu. It kind of seemed like something else must have happened.”
While anyone can get sick from the flu, young children are at higher risk of developing serious flu-related complications.
“Talking to your doctor before about annual flu vaccination is the most important step,” pediatrician Dr. Leonard Friedland told Newsweek. Once symptoms of flu start emerging, it’s too late to vaccinate, he added.
Dr. Friedland, who is also the vice president and director of scientific affairs and public health vaccines at GSK, is urging proactive prevention against both the flu and Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), particularly among young children.
“It’s important to talk to your family’s doctor or pharmacist about annual flu vaccination for everyone six months of age and older,” he said. “If a person is unable to get vaccinated until November or later, vaccination is still recommended because flu most commonly peaks in February and significant activity can continue into May.”
Megan said the weeks and months after Kennedy’s death were a blur. She and Jesse held what she called a “fun-eral” for Kennedy and celebrated her life with activities she enjoyed.
Three weeks after her passing, Megan found out that she was pregnant with her son Rory.
“That was a big surprise and it kind of took over everything,” she said. “I was trying to focus on making sure that I was doing everything that I possibly could to make sure that my body was in a good place. We also did a ton of grief therapy, counseling and couple’s therapy.”
In the wake of her death, Megan and Jesse have made it their mission to ensure no other family experiences the loss of a child because of such a preventable illness.
“At the time, we didn’t realize that getting the flu vaccine may have helped protect her,” she said. “Unfortunately, we learned that too late.”
Above all, she and Jesse didn’t realize how fatal the flu could be.
“We were relieved when we heard that’s what she tested positive for because we were worried she had something that we deemed more serious,” Megan said. “It turns out that the flu was what we should have been worried about. We just really wish that we would have heard this message before we lost her.”
Over three years on, Megan and Jesse have 2-year-old old Rory and 4-month-old son Avery.
“We laugh all the time about how Kennedy would not be pleased with their behavior every once in a while, because they’re all over the place for sure, but we are absolutely making sure that we are on top of their health at all times,” Megan said. “We don’t miss any appointments or vaccinations because we have meetings at work or anything like that anymore because it’s so important to make sure that they’re prioritized.”
Megan’s message is clear: vaccination can help prevent the flu for you and your family.
“In an instant, the flu can change your life,” she said. “The best way to protect your family is to talking to your doctor or pharmacist.”
