A North State church has been hit hard by the swine flu. Two church members recently died from swine flu, one of them was laid to rest Wednesday. Johnny Duerksen was eulogized as a man of faith who spread to word of God. In his death, he is spreading the word of the dangers of the H1-N1 swine flu, which he succumbed to last week. This death comes as a shock to his family. Johnny Duerksen was a healthy 32-year-old man with a wife and six children.
Duerksen's wife Kelie told Action News "he said he can't breathe, my chest is hurting again. And he called the ambulance again. That's when they admitted him and transported him to Fremont Hospital." Duerksen died about one month later.
Duerksen was a member of the Victory Outreach Church in Yuba City. It's the same church as Isela J. Morales, who at age 47 also died of swine flu, just one day later in the same intensive care unit at Fremont Medical Center. Additionally, both shared the same doctor. One of Morales' daughters warns others to take precautions.
Isela M. Morales said "if you start having the symptoms you need to go get checked. It doesn't matter if it costs you money. It's not worth your life."
These two cases add to the growing number of middle-aged victims of the H1-N1 virus.
The Morales family will have a small ceremony for Isela J. Morales on Thursday. Her family says she was a woman who always was willing to help those in need.
