'I've Never Felt So Scared': The Faces of H1N1

Oct. 14, 2009— -- Ten-year-old Benjamin Oback has the typical face of the emerging swine flu pandemic in its more serious stages. In Sacramento, Calif., he lies in the critical care unit at the University of California at Davis Children's Hospital.

His parents pray and stand vigil. For nearly two weeks, their son has been fighting for his life.

"I feel awful. I feel like part of my soul has been crushed," said Benjamin's father Eric Oback. "It's the worst imaginable feeling to see your kid fall that quickly and to be that ill. The night that he went to the emergency room was the scariest moment I've had in my entire life."

It started out like a normal flu. On Sunday, Oct. 4, after riding his bike, Benjamin felt out of breath.

"On Sunday, he complained his chest hurt," said Oback.

"Benjamin was seen to have a minor case of the flu," his mother Julie Oback said. "I had taken Benjamin to his pediatrician Tuesday morning because he had a mild fever. His pediatrician listens to his lungs. He said his lungs were clear. I asked him about giving him Tamiflu, and he said, 'No, he's not that sick. He should be better by the end of the week.' Nine hours later, he took a turn for the worse, and he became unresponsive."

Benjamin had passed out and was rushed to the hospital.

"So that night, Tuesday night [and] early Wednesday morning was the worst," said Julie Oback. "And it looked like it was touch and go for quite a while. But they were finally able to stabilize him; since then, they've generally kept him stable."

"This wasn't the normal course. Most people who get H1N1 are fine, but you don't know who's going to take a turn for the worse," said Julie Oback. "That's what's so scary about it."

"In Benjamin's case, the main symptom was that fluid built up on the outside of his lung rather than the inside of his lung, and I think that's probably why his pediatrician didn't catch it with a stethoscope, because the fluid on the outside doesn't gurgle when you breath," Benjamin's father said. "I think the fluid outside caused his lung to collapse and stop functioning."