Girl Told She Had Flu; Then Her Parents Got Her Death Certificate

VISALIA, CA — Parents take their kids to the doctor every day with flu symptoms. Usually they're sent home, told to rest up, drink plenty of fluids and stay away from other students. But for one family of a student at Green Acres Middle School in Visalia, that familiar story turned to tragedy.

Alyssa Joyce Alcaraz came home sick one day last month. Her sister Mariah told KFSN-TV she thought Alyssa simply had a bout of food poisoning. She'd be fine.

Their mother, Keila Lino, 31, told The Washington Post she took her 12-year-old daughter to an urgent care center on Dec. 13. Doctors diagnosed the middle schooler with the flu, she said, so she stayed home for a few days.

It wasn't out of the ordinary for kids to get the flu this time of year and, in fact, doctors nationwide have been inundated with flu visits.

Alyssa, who was usually pretty active, felt fatigued and didn't want to eat, Lino said. And her symptoms never improved.

Four days later, Alyssa complained that it was hard for her to breathe. They returned to the urgent care center, only this time, doctors said she wasn't getting enough oxygen. Alyssa was rushed to Kaweah Delta Medical Center. But by the time they got there, "everything had already shut down," Lino told the Post.

At the hospital, Lino and Alyssa's father, Jeremy Alcaraz, were told she had meningitis. A few days later, they learned from Alyssa's death certificate that she died of cardiac arrest and septic shock stemming from a strep blood infection that got into her bloodstream, the Post said.

The Visalia Times-Delta published her obituary two days after Christmas.

Now, Lino wants other mothers and fathers to avoid the same fate. She told the Post she no longer trusts doctors and encouraged other parents to press their doctors for more tests — something she said could've saved her daughter's life.

Two GoFundMe pages have been established to help raise money for Alyssa's funeral. Nearly $20,000 had been raised as of Thursday afternoon.

One post by author Vee Gee said the family was in "urgent need" for donations because the funeral home needed money as soon as possible. She said Jeremy, whom she identified as her cousin, has three other children and "desperately" wants to bury Alyssa rather than have her cremated.

"No father should have to go through this alone so your help would be greatly appreciated," she wrote. "Alyssa deserves for all her family and friends that love her to have a chance to say goodbye and have a burial site to always go visit and remember the memories."

Keila Lino and Jeremy Alcaraz didn't immediately respond to Facebook messages. A message left with Lino wasn't immediately returned. A number associated with Alcaraz wasn't accepting calls. Patch will update when we hear back from them.

Photo credit: GoFundMe