Published: October 29, 2009 05:46 pm      

H1N1 contributed to local woman’s death

The death of an Orange County woman has been linked with the H1N1 virus.

According to Leonard and Joyce Yockachonis, their daughter, Terese “Terri” Tomlinson, died Oct. 14 at an area hospital following a recent illness. Test results received on Oct. 16 confirmed she had H1N1.

The official cause of death, according to the Orange County Health Department and University of Texas Medical Branch in Orange has been listed as respiratory failure and pneumonia. The H1N1 virus did not cause her death, but it was a contributing factor.

Yockachonis and his wife believe not enough is being said or done locally about the H1N1 virus, and they think that, with their daughter’s death, people need to take the threat of Swine Flu more seriously.

“The community needs to know that Swine Flu is in our area and it is serious,” said Tomlinson’s father, Leonard Yockachonis. “She went into the hospital on a Friday and died that following Wednesday. It just happened so fast.”

According to Lisa Bond, public health official with the Orange County Health Department and University of Texas Medical Branch in Orange, the H1N1 virus mainly affects children and teenagers.

“Tomlinson’s death was not caused by the H1N1 virus, but it was confirmed she did have it and it was a contributing factor,” Bond said. “She apparently had a history of medical issues. Our hearts go out to the family during this time of grief.”

Bond said there are other confirmed cases of Swine Flu in Orange County as 28 positive cases have been confirmed in the past six weeks for local residents through the emergency rooms at two area hospitals.

“Very few people are being tested for (H1N1), unless they go to the emergency room,” Bond added. “But 99 percent of the people who have the flu right now probably have the Swine Flu. Fortunately, according to the CDC and state health department, we are starting to see a downhill slide or lessening of the number of people becoming ill.”

According to Joyce Yockachonis, Tomlinson’s mother, her daughter was ill with flu-like symptoms for approximately 10 days before entering the hospital.

“She was sick for about a week-and-a-half and had been self-medicating the whole time because she didn’t have any insurance,” said her mother. “Then she got so bad she finally went to the hospital.”

Yockachonis was there to see his daughter be transferred to the Beaumont hospital. And it is a memory which will stick with him for the rest of his life.

“She had learned sign language some time ago,” he said with tears welling in his eyes. “And, as she was being taken to the ambulance, she looked at me and made these gestures with her hand, and waived bye to me. I told her I didn’t understand what she was telling me, so she did it again. I looked it up when I got home, and she was spelling ‘M-O-M.’ She wanted me to tell her mother good-bye.”

Tomlinson’s brother, John Yockachonis, has moved back to Orange County after living in California for a number of years to help raise his sisters children.

“People need to get vaccinated as soon as they can, even if it is just the regular flu shot,” John said. “I’m taking the kids as soon as possible. I’ve got to step into a fatherly role with these children because they need me and my family needs me.”

Tomlinson was buried in Hemphill, Texas, next to her sister who was murdered over six years ago. Tomlinson, a single mother, was raising two children of her own as well as her deceased sister’s child. Now that responsibility will fall to her parents.

The three children are now residing with the elderly couple in Orange County with one child sleeping in a back bedroom, another in the living room and the third in a den.

The Yockachonis’ are attempting to deal with the situation, but they know things will be hard for a while.

“We will be purchasing some bunk beds for two of the children, and we are even talking about adding on to the house,” said Yockachonis. “But my wife and I have our own medical issues and we have a limited income. Terri didn’t have any life insurance either, so we really don’t know what we will do right now.”

John Yockachonis has opened an account at Firestone Credit Union for the children for those who might interested in helping this family which has been devastated by another tragedy. The account number is 1088015.



The Beaumont Health Department confirmed late Tuesday that a 5-year-old Nederland boy died of complications from the H1N1 virus. The child died Tuesday afternoon in a Houston hospital after being ill for about a month. This is the first reported death of a Jefferson County resident from H1N1.

“We are saddened to learn about the death of this young child,” said Ingrid Holmes, Public Health Director for the City of Beaumont. “Most people who have gotten this strain of flu have had only mild symptoms, but it is our sincere hope that every family is taking precautions against both seasonal and H1N1 flu, so that we can keep infections to a bare minimum this season.”

According to the Associated Press, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said Monday the swine flu vaccine “is coming out the door as fast as it comes off the production line.”

But at the same time, she acknowledged delays in getting a sufficient supply for all those demanding it.

“We were relying on the manufacturers to give us their numbers and as soon as we got numbers we put them out to the public. It does appear now that those numbers were overly rosy,” Sebelius said in one interview. “We do have a vaccine that works,” she said. Sebelius said the immune response is working faster than officials anticipated.

Appearing Monday morning on nationally broadcast news shows, she said officials now have a supply of about 16.5 million doses of the vaccine, while conceding that’s millions of doses below the amount needed.

Sebelius said she couldn’t predict just how widespread the virus will be. Roughly a thousand people have died from it so far in the United States. But she also said officials do not believe there is yet any cause to close down schools and cease other daily activities.

Asked what advice she would give to people who have waited futilely in line for shots, the secretary replied, “I want them to come back.”



Tommy Mann Jr. is a reporter for The Orange Leader. He can be reached at 409-883-3571, Ext. 2619 or tmann@orangeleader.com