The swine flu has a north state teenager fighting for her life tonight.
Fourteen year old Jackie Dery is hospitalized at U.C. Davis Medical Center ... and isn't expected to come home until after Thanksgiving.
Debbie Clark and her husband, David, comfort each other as they struggle to find the means to pay for travel to and from Sacramento, where Debbie's daughter Jackie has been hospitalized for the past two weeks.
Dery ... a popular athlete and band member at Greenville High School ... was life flighted to UCD after falling ill to the H1N1 virus, which was complicated by a secondary infection.
Debbie Clark, "The last two weeks in and out of ICU, fever spikes, ended up with three tubes to drain fluid from her chest cavity."
Clark says it's still touch and go for Jackie ... who may not be able to return to school for several months, as she's expected to require in home care, even after she's released from the hospital.
David Clark, "To see someone this healthy, vibrant and outgoing ...kind and gentle...knocked down. Beyond words, can't wrap words around it."
The tight knit community at the Woodson Bridge R.V. park has banded together to help raise money for travel and medical expenses for the Clarks, who are having trouble making ends meet. the park owners want anyone with fundraising ideas to give them a call. A fishing guide has even offered a free trip to the person who raises the most money. Giny Whitney is the owner, "Heartbreaking to watch mother going through, hearbreaking to know Jackie'ss going through it. Hard watching someone struggle to get to U.C. Davis to see their daughter."
And even from her hospital bed, Jackie is reaching out with a message for others. Her mom says, "My daughter would like parents to know the risks associated with getting the H1N1 virus far outweigh the risks of the vaccine, so get your child vaccinated, no one should have to go through this.
Again, if you'd like to help the Clark family, you can contact the office at the Woodson Bridge R.V. Park. That number is 839-2151.
