The Swine Flu Comeback Kid Goes Home
Cameron Pirozzi was in a coma for over six weeks
By TODD WRIGHT
Updated 8:05 AM EST, Fri, Oct 16, 2009
Cameron Pirozzi got the birthday gift of a lifetime Thursday: Pirozzi went home to Palm Beach Gardens for the first time in three months as she slowly continues to recover from her fight with swine flu.
For the past few months, home for Pirozzi and her family has been a Jackson Memorial Hospital room as doctors fought to save the girl’s life. After coming out of a coma, she has had to re-learn how to eat, talk and walk again because of the debilitating effects of the infection.
“This just showed us how severe H1N1 can be,” Dr. Konstantinos Boukas said.
Pirozzi’s swine flu story started mundanely enough – with a cough. It soon developed into a 105-degree fever and when combined with her asthma, nearly became fatal.
Cameron went into respiratory failure and was placed on a ventilator. Doctors placed her into a medically-induced coma for six weeks and she also had a tracheotomy to help her breathe.
On Thursday, Cameron gets to walk out of the hospital on her own, just two days before her 9th birthday. She is expected to make a full recovery and lead a normal life.
"For a while, the prognosis wasn't good, but I never stopped believing she would fully recover," said Cameron's mother, Kelly Pirozzi. "This really is a miracle."
First Published: Oct 15, 2009 5:32 PM EST
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