Teacher dies from flu after not buying medication in time due to its cost

Mother-of-two foregoes anti-viral medication because of the $116 price tag

She has left behind her husband, 10-year-old daughter and 7-year-old son (WISD)

A 38-year-old primary school teacher in Texas died because of complications from the flu after she delayed picking up her medication because of its cost, her husband has said.

Heather Holland, a second-grade teacher and mother of two, is said to have refrained from collecting her prescription drugs because of a $116 (£84) payment.

Ms Holland’s husband, Frank, told local paper the Weatherford Democrat that his wife thought the medicine was too expensive.

Mr Holland said he bought the prescription for her when he found out, but her health quickly deteriorated.

“Friday night, things escalated and she ended up in the ICU,” Mr Holland said. “The doctors got the blood culture back and they had to put her dialysis early Saturday."

Ms Holland, who had a 10-year-old daughter and 7-year-old son, died the next morning, on 4 February.

Her husband added: “I have to be strong for the kids, but it’s still surreal, it hasn’t all set in.

“We’ve been together a long time, over half my life. She’s my best friend, my soulmate, my everything.”

Dr Jeffery Hands, the administrator in charge of the local school district Weatherford ISD, said: “This is a sad time for our WISD family, especially for those who knew Ms Holland as a friend and colleague. Heather was an outstanding educator."

The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has said that this year’s flu season is as bad as the swine flu epidemic in 2009.

A US Government report which came out on Friday showed that during the last week of January, one in every thirteen visits to the doctor was for fever, cough and other flu symptoms.