. . .

My niece Amanda died on Monday, unexpectedly. She had the flu and had stayed home from work; she had a fever, and that’s all I know. Her husband came home to find her dead. She leaves behind two small children.

You never expect this. Old people? Of course. Young people in accidents? I’m sure it’s just as much of a shock and every bit as horrible to the loved ones, but again, it’s something people have heard of. But for a young, healthy person to die from the flu?

The families are devastated. She was my brother’s only child, and I’m sure he’ll never be the same.

My sister and I will be driving down to Orange County this weekend to spend some time with them. In a perfect world we’d spend longer, but for a variety of reasons this is the best we can do. We’ve never been a very close family (despite what my mother might think), but we’re not so distant as to blow each other completely off at a time like this.

D.

8 Comments

  1. Bix says:

    Oh my goodness, that’s so sad. So sorry for everyone.

  2. Matt says:

    So sorry to hear that Doug. You and your family will be in our thoughts this weekend.

  3. I don’t know what to say… I mean, I’ve certainly read enough about the flu to know that, should it turn deadly, it would most likely strike people about 10-15 years younger than we are the hardest, since they would have been born after that last swine flu epidemic. But when it becomes real… that’s something else.

    I am very sorry for you and your brother.

  4. Lyvvie says:

    So sorry for your grief. Deepest sympathies.

  5. Walnut says:

    Thanks, folks.

    Sorry that B&W was down for a bit. I had my identity — what, thieved? — a few months ago, and had to toss my “favorite” Amex card. And of course I didn’t think about all the various things, like my B&W hosting service, which were on auto-pay via that Amex card. I fixed it this afternoon (as y’all can see), but it was quite remarkable how much old information they had on me. You have that phone number? Really?

  6. Dean says:

    Wow. That’s… wow. You have our Canadian sympathies.

    Damn.

  7. KGK says:

    Please accept my heartfelt condolences. I hope that the formalities go as well as possible.

  8. Shaina says:

    I’m sorry 🙁 What a tragedy. *hug*