A Kentucky boy died of the flu in his father’s arms as he allegedly begged the hospital staff for help. Mikey Guallpa , 6, was taken to the St. Elizabeth hospital in Florence on December 20. He passed out in the waiting room and was pronounced dead moments later. Jose Guallpa, the sick boy’s father, claims he was told repeatedly to “wait their turn.”
Mikey Guallpa was rushed to St. Elizabeth hospital in Florence, Kentucky, after being seen earlier the same day by the family doctor. The 6-year-old boy was shaking and vomiting. Zara Jimbo, the boy’s mother, told the media that her husband begged the hospital staff for help, but they were instructed to sit in the waiting room and wait.
Approximately 20 minutes after Mikey Guallpa and his parents arrived at St. Elizabeth hospital, he vomited one final time, passed out, and died.
“They should have got to him earlier when we were asking for help, when we were begging to, you know, he needs help,” Zara Jimbo told local Lex 18 News . “He’s not okay, but they were looking at us like we were crazy. This is not a hardware store or a grocery store. This is a hospital about health. It’s like health, helping people, saving lives.”
Jose Guallpa is still struggling to understand what happened at the St. Elizabeth hospital emergency room, and to accept the death of his young son.
“It’s not right, just please look at him,” the elder Guallpa said he begged Florence, Kentucky, hospital staff. “Lady all what she got to say was just wait for your turn. What? Wait for my turn to see my son die?”
The hospital is not commenting about the flu death of Mikey Guallpa, but the Florence health care center did issue a public release.
“We are unable to comment or release any specific information. As an organization, St. Elizabeth takes protecting the privacy of our patients’ protected information very seriously.”
The Northern Kentucky Health Department said that Mikey Guallpa had a “chronic health problem” which may have made him more susceptible to the flu. As previously reported by the Inquisitr , the CDC has declared a flu epidemic . The H3N2 flu strain has now reached at least 22 states and been blamed for at least 16 child deaths.
What do you think about the Kentucky boy dying of the flu while waiting in the hospital emergency room?
