Tulsa Mother Calls 911 After Getting Flu

We are hopefully through the worst of flu season now, as doctors say we hit a peak in the last week or two.

Jennifer Nokes said she and her son were sick at the same time, so severely, they thought they might die.

"I crawled and got to my phone and called 911," said Nokes. 

Nokes said her 8-year-old son Michael caught the flu first.

"I started getting the shivers even though I was warm. I was like, uhhh, I can't stop shivering," Nokes said. 

Then she caught it. Things got so bad at one point, an ambulance had to rush her to the hospital.

"I couldn't breathe. I was in bed and … I couldn't breathe. I thought I was dying," Nokes said. 

She said they were both severely sick for six days.

"He wanted me to carry him, and I said, 'Honey, mommy can't even carry myself right now.'," Nokes said. 

"I was scared, I'd think I was gonna die, or my mom was gonna die," her son Michael said, "all those six days, it was hard to breathe, but I just tried. It's like a keep on trying challenge."

Jennifer said neither one of them had a flu shot, which is normal for them.

Doctors said even though the flu shot wasn't a great match this year, they've still recommended getting them.

"If you look at flu-related deaths, we're seeing that in patients who did not get a flu shot," said Dr. Zachary Fowler with St. John Urgent Care. 

Dr. Fowler said we are hopefully on the downward slope now, but the virus is still very much alive.

"All it takes is a cough or a sneeze for the flu virus to get out there," Fowler said. 

Dr. Fowler said we are still in the thick of flu season, and if you haven't had your flu shot, it's not too late to get one.