Flu patients share stories amid New York State’s record-breaking cases

Rochester, NY (WHAM) — Two local flu patients, Kimberly Trobia and Kristy Schreiber, described their experiences of the recent surge in cases on Friday.

Both are recovering from disruptive symptoms after catching the flu in the past several days.

BACKGROUND: Flu cases surge in Monroe County as new strain emerges

“My head feels very full. I feel nauseous,” Trobia told 13WHAM.

“This is horrible. It takes everything out of you.” Schreiber said.

On Friday, the New York State Department of Health reported more than 71,000 Influenza cases, the most ever recorded in a single week.

State officials say the current strain is a subtype of Influenza A, which can cause more severe symptoms.

“I expect the holiday week is going to be even worse, because we all gathered together for the holiday season, and we share our love, our joy, we also share our germs,” said Dr. Jim McDonald, the Commissioner of NYSDOH. “We have a lot more flu season ahead of us right now, and the worst, you know, it’s still in front of us here.”

On Saturday, McDonald says there are more than 3,600 people hospitalized across the state with Influenza.

After watching the Buffalo Bills play in Ohio last week, Trobia said she came down with a bad fever.

“It was 105.5 — we’d gotten home, and I called my doctor. My doctor said no, go to the urgent care,” Trobia said.

“It was pretty terrible,” Trobia added when asked about her symptoms. “Just a lot of body aches, cough — this cough will not go away. Today was the first day I was actually able to get up and do a little work from home.”

While Trobia was able to wait it out at home, Schreiber said her symptoms were so severe that she ended up in an ambulance heading to Rochester General Hospital.

“I couldn’t even walk,” Schreiber said. “I could barely talk. I needed help with everything I did. I was not able to eat or drink. Once they finally did get an IV in me with fluids, I started feeling a little better, but it took a very long time.”

Doctors say that while flu vaccines may not completely prevent infection, they can help prevent those severe symptoms.

“I am seeing lots of viral illnesses, flu included,” Dr. Kellin King of Rochester Regional Health told 13WHAM. “I’ve probably seen 18 to 20 patients a day, and probably, like, four to five of them are testing positive for flu.”

King and McDonald said if you’re considering getting the vaccine, it’s not too late.

“Once you get to the end of March, you have to look at the cases, but by that time, yeah, you may not get much benefit out of it,” McDonald said. “But keep in mind, when you get the flu vaccine, the flu vaccine has multiple strains in it. It protects you from Influenza A viruses but also Influenza B viruses.”

“I’ve actually had several patients who are vaccinated, a number who are not vaccinated,” King added. “The ones who are not vaccinated have way more severe symptoms.”

CLICK HERE to view that lastest NYSDOH report on respiratory activity.