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Respiratory failure

Teen Who Nearly Died Urges Area Residents To Get Flu Shots Teen Who Nearly Died Urges Area Residents To Get Flu Shots
Teen Who Nearly Died Urges Area Residents To Get Flu Shots This year’s flu season is in its infancy, but one Hudson Valley teenager is encouraging area residents to get their flu shots after she nearly died from flu-related symptoms. Last year, 13-year-old Rebecca Berak, of Poughkeepsie, tested positive for influenza and within hours of her diagnosis, her fever spiked to 106-degrees. Her influenza led to necrotizing pneumonia, throwing her body into sudden shock, acute respiratory failure and kidney failure.  With uncertainty about whether she would survive, Berak spent weeks on a ventilator and in a medically induced coma in Maria Fareri Chi…