PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. – The flu can affect just about every organ system in the body. It's a virus that can permeate every cell line.
Patients can have respiratory failure, you can have heart failure from the virus.
For Jenny Spell, her flu nightmare began when she was 16 and fell ill. At the time she was in high school and a varsity soccer player from Loxahatchee.
About a week after getting a fever and cough, Spell was in the hospital, fighting for her life.
"It was one thing after the next," Spell said. "My body suffered such a blow it just couldn't recover fast enough to fight off things that came after it next."
"Doctors have told us that she was so critical to call our families because she was not going to survive the night," Spell's mom said. "Who knew (the flu) could do such a thing?"
But it can.
The influenza virus attacked every organ in Spell's body and caused nerve and kidney damage.
Spell was so sick doctors airlifted her to Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital so that a state-of-the-art machine called an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation that could do the job her own heart and lungs were too weak to do.
Dr. Gerald Lavandosky of Pediatric Critical Care of South Florida said Spell's condition was touch and go.
"There were multiple times during transport where Jenny would lose blood pressure or her heart rate became very slow and she would require ongoing resuscitation," Lavandosky said.
The machine called an ECMO supported Spell's heart and lungs so the rest of her body could heal.
After 241 days Spell left the hospital, a testament to the power of medical technology and Spell's own fighting spirit.
"I have not in my personal experience seen anybody as sick as Jenny was," Lavandosky said. "She is a unique case in that regard."
As for Spell's mom, she said that "It's a miracle" her daughter is alive.
Recently, Spell underwent a kidney transplant, allowing her to get off dialysis.
Spell said she hopes her story will be a reminder to others to get the flu vaccine and never underestimate the influenza virus.
"I think people need to know how dangerous it can be," Spell said. "They don't think twice about. 'Oh, it's just the common flu,' but it's incredible and terrifying how it can impact someone's life."