Suamico’s Ava Rae Schmidt dies of flu; Wisconsin’s 2nd pediatric demise

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As flu instances proceed to rise, state well being officers confirmed Friday {that a} second Wisconsin baby has died of influenza.

Citing privateness considerations, the state Division of Well being Providers declined to supply particulars on the demise, together with the kid’s age, gender, location and flu vaccination standing.

However an obituary and GoFundMe web page recognized the kid as Ava Rae Schmidt, 14, of Suamico, who died Wednesday “after a really quick struggle with Influenza A and Strep B.”

Schmidt turned sick over the weekend and went into sepsis by Monday night, based on Fb posts from her mom, Katerina Schmidt. On the way in which to a Inexperienced Bay hospital, her daughter turned unresponsive, so the mother carried out CPR. Schmidt was finally transferred to Youngsters’s Hospital in Milwaukee.

Schmidt was a straight-A pupil in her freshman 12 months at Bay Port Excessive College who had simply obtained a 99% on a latest examination and instructed her dad she might have gotten 100%, based on her obituary and the GoFundMe web page created by her godmother, Kerry Reis.

Schmidt liked buying, portray, animals and was “at all times prepared for the subsequent babysitting job.” She danced at a Inexperienced Bay dance firm and just lately instructed her mother she could not see an upcoming solo efficiency as a result of she wished it to be a shock.

“She was so considerate and was at all times in search of methods to point out you she liked you. Whether or not it was a Starbucks drink, an order of cheese curds or only a hug she wished to discover a approach to put a smile in your face,” Reis wrote on the GoFundMe web page. “She was a planner and had every little thing from her sixteenth birthday to her wedding ceremony day deliberate.”

The state well being division earlier this week introduced the influenza-related demise of a kid in western Wisconsin the primary pediatric influenza demise this season. That baby confirmed no proof of receiving a flu shot earlier this 12 months, officers stated.

Nationally, 47 kids have died from issues associated to the flu, based on the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention.

Wisconsin usually sees three to 4 pediatric flu deaths a 12 months, stated Tom Haupt, the well being division’s influenza surveillance coordinator. Flu charges prior to now few years, nonetheless, have been decrease as a result of so many extra individuals took precautions through the pandemic, corresponding to sporting masks and washing their arms, that additionally helped stop catching the flu.