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| LACIE RIAN FISHER |
Lacie, who was a cheerleader at Pisgah High, had to miss cheering on her school's basketball team on Dec. 30 due to her flu-like symptoms.
Her father, Kieth Fisher, brought her to the pediatrician about 72 hours after Lacie showed her first symptoms of body ache and clammy skin. But when they arrived at the clinic, Lacie passed out, according to Citizen-Times. She never regained consciousness.
Lacie usually gets a flu shot but this year, she kept putting off getting the innoculation despite seeing her doctor in November.
Technically, the outgoing teenager died from septic shock – a severe form of sepsis – with Influenza B as an underlying cause of death.
Doctors at Memorial Campus of Mission Hospital later determined that the untreated flu had triggered sepsis, which caused life-threatening inflammation throughout the body, resulting in organ failure and death.
"Anyone can get an infection, and almost any infection can lead to sepsis," according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Lacie's "levels were all over the place," Lacie's mom Rosalind Fisher Payne said. "It was affecting her heart, her liver ... every part of her body, every organ."
"As sepsis worsens, blood flow to vital organs, such as your brain, heart and kidneys, becomes impaired," the Mayo Clinic's sepsis guide says. "Sepsis can also cause blood clots to form in your organs and in your arms, legs, fingers and toes – leading to varying degrees of organ failure and tissue death."
Her father remembers Lacie as a "big hugger." Even walking around the house some days, "we had to have hug time four or five times before I could get where I was going," he said. "She just wanted to love on you."
"As sepsis worsens, blood flow to vital organs, such as your brain, heart and kidneys, becomes impaired," the Mayo Clinic's sepsis guide says. "Sepsis can also cause blood clots to form in your organs and in your arms, legs, fingers and toes – leading to varying degrees of organ failure and tissue death."
Her father remembers Lacie as a "big hugger." Even walking around the house some days, "we had to have hug time four or five times before I could get where I was going," he said. "She just wanted to love on you."
Lacie was born in Changsha, China and grew up in Canton, North Carolina, She enrolled at Pisgah High School this fall and was on the junior varsity cheer team. She was also a straight-A student, a member of school band, chorus and several civic organizations.a who “was goal-oriented and refused to accept failure,” according to her obituary.
The school had a celebration of Lacie's life on Jan. 4. Besides her parents, she leaves behind three sisters and a set of grandparents.
Her parents say that they hope their late daughter's story is a cautionary tale for any parents hesitating about getting their child vaccinated.
‘I know that there’s people out there that’s afraid to get the flu shot,’ Payne told the Citizen-Times.
‘If there’s just some way that I can get people to realize because of Lacie – get that shot. People just don’t understand how bad it is. No, it’s not just a cold, or a not-feel-good for a couple of days. I mean, this happened in hours.’
The school had a celebration of Lacie's life on Jan. 4. Besides her parents, she leaves behind three sisters and a set of grandparents.
Her parents say that they hope their late daughter's story is a cautionary tale for any parents hesitating about getting their child vaccinated.
‘I know that there’s people out there that’s afraid to get the flu shot,’ Payne told the Citizen-Times.
‘If there’s just some way that I can get people to realize because of Lacie – get that shot. People just don’t understand how bad it is. No, it’s not just a cold, or a not-feel-good for a couple of days. I mean, this happened in hours.’
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