Teenage H1N1 Flu Survivor Sends Message to Young People

January 21, 2010

I'm Luke Duvall, H1N1 survivor, and here's my story. On October 4th I began showing some of the symptoms of H1N1.  I didn't know then that I would soon be fighting for my life.  On October 6th I was rushed to the ER due to shortness of breath.  I couldn't catch my breath enough to even speak clearly.  I was air lifted to Arkansas Children's hospital the next day and spent the next 17 days of my life on a ventilator battling to stay alive and another 17 relearning how to walk, eat, and drink again.  I finally won my battle and returned home on November 10th. I lost 36 pounds in my month long fight and half my sophomore football season.  I was unable to attend school again until January 5th.  If I would have had the opportunity to get the vaccine I would have taken it and gained all those things that I lost.
 
Getting vaccinated can take only seconds and save you from all of these heartaches and troubles.  My life, and the life of my family, has been changed forever. The vaccine would have prevented all of it.  If you don't want to do it for yourself do it for others because this doesn't just affect you, it affects whole towns and communities.  Do it for them, do it for yourself, but by all means, just do it.

Luke Duvall is a 15-year-old high school athlete from Little Rock, Arkansas.  Luke is also a spokesperson for Every Child by Two (ECBT) which seeks to raise awareness about the dangers of influenza and the importance for all parents to have their children vaccinated beginning at six months of age.