On January 12, Piper Lowery fell ill with the flu. Her mother, Pegy, took Piper to the hospital several times in hopes of helping her get better – but it was to no avail.
Piper’s symptoms only continued to get worse. She had trouble breathing, and it hurt to walk. Her fever shot up to 105 degrees, and she began to bleed from her nose and vomit blood.
Just four days later, on January 16, as Pegy took Piper to the hospital once more, Piper collapsed in the middle of the parking lot.
Her doctors said that the H1N1 flu had already reached Piper’s kidneys, and there was little they could do.
Pegy had never brought her daughter to get the flu vaccine because she’d always thought they were “optional, not a necessity.” On top of the fact that Piper hated needles – to the point of bawling whenever they touched her skin – Pegy just never thought to bring her daughter to get vaccinated.
Piper passed away on the same day she collapsed in the hospital parking lot. She was only 12 years old.
Pegy now says her stance on flu vaccines has taken a complete turn.
“I don't want [losing a child] to happen to somebody else,” she said. “I don't want them to lose their child. It's pretty devastating. There's nothing like it.”
Piper was Pegy’s first daughter, and first successful attempt to have a child after ten years of unsuccessful tries. Piper had been the positive result of “one last attempt” at IVF. She leaves behind a younger brother, Noah.
While Pegy would take her child back “within a second,” but turns to the positive impact that Piper’s death has had on parents and children around the world. Many parents have since told Pegy that they went to get their children vaccinated after they heard about Piper’s fate.
“She's impacted so many lives, I cannot tell you. I can't go back and rewrite history,” Pegy said.
She continues to put her energy and effort into raising awareness about the importance of getting vaccinated from the flu by knitting infant hats for Fight the Flu Foundation campaign.
