Healthy Woman Loses Leg to Flu, Here Were Her Symptoms
Allison Miller was 33 and forgot to get a flu shot. She ended up in a coma fighting for her life.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) during the 2021 to 2022 flu season, there were nine million illnesses, four million medical visits, 10,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths related to the virus. The flu vaccine, available to everyone six months and older, is the recommended form of protection against serious illness and death. While many people opt not to get the annual jab, one woman is sharing her tragic story in hopes of changing their minds.
Ten years ago when Allison Miller was 33, she didn't get the flu shot one season. She ended up losing her leg after getting sick with a serious infection and has been suffering ever since.
According to Allison, her first symptoms were a sore throat and headache. When they began to worsen, she went to urgent care. While there, they took an X-ray, but the results weren't alarming.
"It looked like it was just some sort of run-of-the-mill stuff — they gave me some prescription cough syrup and said to let them know if it got worse," she said in an interview with Fox News Digital.
However, once she returned home, she felt even worse and started having serious back pain. "Thinking it was the flu or something I could get over, I kept waiting to turn the corner — like, this is the worst of it. It'll get better. And clearly that wasn't the case," she said.
The back pain was so bad that the next morning she was having periodic blackouts. Her friend came over and called the ambulance. Her memory stopped then.
"I remember being loaded into the ambulance — and then I really don't remember a whole lot after that for about three weeks to a month thereafter," she said. "It just escalated very quickly."
Her bad case of influenza caused bilateral bacterial pneumonia, affecting both lungs. It is more severe than viral pneumonia.
It led to sepsis, which quickly turned to septic shock. "All of my organs were shutting down," Miller said. "Within a short amount of time, I was in the ICU and they were doing everything they could. But ultimately, my last best chance was to be put on life support."
After five days on life support, she suffered a rare complication. "A known complication of that form of life support is amputation," she told Fox News Digital. "Some patients lose blood circulation, and that's what happened to me." Her leg was amputated above the knee while she was in a coma. "By the time I came out of it, it had been three weeks. I awoke in a very hazy position — and I didn't have a left leg," she said.
"There was some permanent organ damage because of the strain of the virus, as it was such a severe case of pneumonia," she said. "I have a terminal lung condition that needs regular treatment."
"It's manageable, but it's something I will forever deal with," she said, adding the experience gave her a "renewed sense of how quickly things could change" and has taught her to take her health seriously.
She wants people to understand how quickly the flu can escalate. "In my case, it was very quick — it was within 24 to 48 hours that it went from just coming on, to me being in the hot seat."
She encourages people to get the flu. "I had missed the memo that flu vaccines were for everyone, and being 33 at the time and otherwise healthy, it didn't even register as something I should consider doing," she said. "If there's anything you can do proactively to minimize the risk of something that severe happening to you, you absolutely should do it, I think."
While the flu shot won't prevent the flu, "it's more of a continuum, rather than either you're sick or you're not," she says. "You still might get it, but you may not end up in the ICU like I did … Considering the benefits that you could get and what the extreme, worst outcome could be, it is an easy thing to do that is proven to make a tremendous difference for people," she added.
Also, "don't dismiss the flu as just the flu. It's so much more than that. And it can be life-altering," says Miller. "If you're sick and the symptoms are severe, don't waste time wondering if you should seek medical attention. Listen to your body — it's better to go in proactively, rather than regret it later."
