Ranae Woods

Hepatitis A

I took my 79 year old mother to the ER, thinking she was battling the flu. After some testing, which included Hepatitis A, since my daughter informed us of a recent outbreak a one of my parents favorite restaurants, we were informed by doctors that she tested positive for Hep A and had also has a little cirrhosis.

After a week stay in the hospital and a week home with rehab, we took her back to the hospital where she continued to struggle. At this point, we really didn’t know what was happening to her. She was scheduled to go to a rehab facility, which never happened and she died four days later. She had HE and was very jaundiced.

It was a horrible, shocking experience and I’m still devastated by her sudden, surprising loss. Also adding to my heartbreak is the fact that she ate at that restaurant on her birthday using a gift card I had given her for Christmas.

When she was first hospitalized, I took my dad to get the Hep A vaccine, but he already had the antibodies. He was hospitalized for a few days the month before, but was never tested for Hep A. His flu test kept coming back negative. I am thankful I didn’t lose both my parents!