DALLAS — As a sophomore at Bishop Lynch High School in Dallas, Reese Termulo was looking forward to the next chapter of her life.
"We had just finished visiting colleges. She visited my alma mater. We were getting ready to transition her to her next phase of life, which was going to be college," said Dr. Cesar Termulo, a pediatrician and Associate Medical Director at Parkland Health.
But those dreams ended in January 2020 when Reese came down with a fever.
"She tested positive for the flu," said her father.
It's what he suspected since flu was rampant at that time. She started medication right away and went home to rest, taking all the routine steps to heal influenza.
On the evening of Jan. 9, Termulo said she seemed sick, but okay.
"She was still texting her friends and checking her Snapchat and all that kind of stuff," he said.
But the next morning, Reese had chest pain.
"The first thing I knew when she said that she was having chest pain was a chance of pneumonia that could actually cause death from the flu," said Termulo.
He checked her lungs, and they sounded clear before he left for work that morning.
But within a few hours, she stopped breathing.
Termulo, who treats many flu patients, never expected his daughter to die from complications from the flu.
"It was completely unexpected, and it was completely unfathomable that would happen to my completely healthy 16-year-old who has never been ill," he said.
When Reese Termulo got the flu, she developed pneumonia and it shut down her organs. It caused sudden death from sepsis, a rare but possible complication from the flu.
"This never crossed my mind that my daughter could die," he said.
Today, Dr. Termulo is seeing the high numbers of the 2024 flu season. He thinks about Reese with every patient and cautions other families about the dangers of influenza.
At Children's Health, they reported 534 cases last week. At Cook Children's, 596 patients tested positive for the flu. Termulo is seeing the trend at his office too.
"I thought the flu season was going away. I really did. And then last week and the week before, almost every single patient that came in with a fever had the flu," said Termulo.
For his daughter, she got the flu shot in December 2019, but the vaccine that season did not cover the strain she contracted. The current flu shot does have it and Termulo is urging people get the vaccine.
"This is the analogy I always say to people: When you get into a car accident, the seatbelt can sometimes save your life, but it's not 100%," Termulo said. "The flu shot doesn't work 100% of the time, but I think that's a significant decrease in the chance of your child dying. I think it's important to get the flu shot."
It's been four years since Termulo lost his daughter, Reese, to the flu. He still feels a deep pain, but hopes Reese's story can raise awareness about the severity of influenza.
The Termulo family is part of the Families Fighting Flu campaign, documenting the stories of those whose lives have been altered by the flu.