A fit and healthy dad-of-three, 27, tragically died from the flu after doctors noticed his first deadly symptom - severe difficulty breathing.

Quenten Thomas, a young father from Marysville, Tennessee, suddenly fell ill and was rushed to the hospital multiple times due to shortness of breath, according to Mirror US. His father, Robert Thomas, said: "It hurt really bad when he coughed, and he was having trouble catching (his) breath," before medical help was needed. Despite having no prior conditions, Quenten's health rapidly deteriorated.

Robert continued: "He noticed his oxygen was dropping, so he went to the hospital asking for oxygen first." After his initial visit to the hospital, they sent him home advising rest, food, and hydration. But Quenten ended up back in the emergency room during his second visit, where doctors took his low blood oxygen levels seriously and started treatment.

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Sadly, it was too late for Quenten who was put on a ventilator and slipped into a coma, as his father explained. Quenten passed away on January 6, leaving behind an eight-year-old daughter, an 11-month-old son, and a one-month-old daughter. "It's unbelievable," said Robert, describing his son as a "healthy, hard-working young man," and stating that "there was no quit in him".

This flu season has sadly taken around 9,400 lives in the US, with 150,000 hospital stays and 14 million people falling ill. In the first week of January alone, 13 children lost their lives to the flu, making a total of 40 kids this season.

A study found that kids are most likely to catch the flu, while folks aged 65 and older are least likely. Kids under 18 are more than twice as likely to get a bad case of the flu than adults over 65.

The Centers for Disease Control says flu symptoms usually hit suddenly. If you've got the flu, you might feel some or all of these symptoms...

  • Fever*/feeling feverish or chills
  • Cough
  • Sore throat
  • Runny or stuffy nose
  • Muscle or body aches
  • Headaches
  • Fatigue (tiredness)
  • Some people may have vomiting and diarrhea, though this is more common in children than adults.

* An AI tool was used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story.