toledoblade.com --

A 24-year-old Toledo woman who recently delivered premature twins died of what is presumed to be complications from H1N1, the Toledo-Lucas County Health Department and relatives said Friday. If confirmed, the death would be Lucas County's first from swine flu.

Mandy Kimbler died Thursday afternoon at Toledo Hospital, where she was admitted Oct. 25 with breathing problems that doctors suspected were caused by bronchitis, said one of her sisters, Kelli Emahiser of Toledo, and a cousin, Emily Emahiser of Point Place.

Her twins, Bradley and Brayden, were delivered 11 weeks early by cesarean section on Oct. 26 after Mrs. Kimbler was put into a coma for treatment, Kelli Emahiser said. The twins, who were due Jan. 4, are doing well, she said.

H1N1 news conference

Mrs. Kimbler, who also had a 3-year-old daughter, Mahala, had no prior problems during the pregnancy and planned to get the H1N1 vaccine, her sister said.

"But she didn't have time to get it," Kelli Emahiser said.

She said Mrs. Kimbler had two rapid-response tests for H1N1 while in the hospital, but both were negative. Mrs. Kimbler's family, including her husband, David, is awaiting results of a more detailed H1N1 test, she said.

"I don't think it's really hit any of us yet," Emily Emahiser said. "We just don't want to see this happen to anyone else."

Emily Emahiser, left, Mandy Kimbler's cousin, and Kelli Emahiser, Mrs. Kimbler's sister, said Mrs. Kimbler was hospitalized with breathing problems suspected to be caused by bronchitis.
( THE BLADE/AMY E. VOIGT )

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The Ohio Department of Health laboratory is determining whether the woman had H1N1, and test results should be available in a matter of days, said Dr. David Grossman, commissioner of the Toledo-Lucas County Health Department.

Pregnant women are among those especially susceptible to viral infections including H1N1, and Mrs. Kimbler could have had another virus, Dr. Grossman said.

Still, he said, the local health department is classifying her case as presumed H1N1 because it appears likely. He added that it was fortunate that her twins were far enough along to have a good chance of doing well.

"It is distressing anytime a young person dies," Dr. Grossman said. "I think that it will be - and hope that it will be - a real wake-up call."

WEEKEND CLINICS

Various local health departments are planning H1N1 vaccination clinics this weekend for residents in high-risk categories, including pregnant women, health-care workers, people aged 6 months to 24 years, people who live with or care for children younger than 6 months, and people 25 through 64 who have chronic conditions.

• Monroe County Health Department, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at Monroe County Community College, 1555 South Raisinville Road. No injectable vaccine for infants and children younger than 3 will be available.

• Sandusky County Health Department, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at Clyde High School, 1015 Race St.

• Wood County Health Department, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at North Baltimore Main School, 124 South Second St. Only the nasal-mist vaccine will be available.

• Toledo-Lucas County Health Department, 2 to 6 p.m. Sunday at St. Luke's Hospital auditorium in Maumee.

Larry Vasko, the health department's deputy commissioner, said "We really need to stress the importance of vaccines in our community. We need to get pregnant women in and their spouses in."

Pregnant women were among those who went to the Zablocki Senior Center in Toledo yesterday for a vaccination clinic. Also there were parents with children too young to be immunized, who also are being encouraged to get the H1N1 vaccine.

The next Lucas County H1N1 vaccination clinic for high-risk groups is from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. tomorrow at St. Luke's Hospital auditorium in Maumee.

Amy Stacy, 31, of Toledo, who gave birth to a son, Aiden, on Oct. 13, said she read on Facebook about Mrs. Kimbler's death and decided to get the vaccine immediately.

"I think I'll probably come back with my other two kids later," Mrs. Stacy said of Jessica, 9, and Kirsten, 8. "I was already planning on getting one, but I just hadn't done it yet."

Lindsay Webb, Toledo city councilman from District 6, urged pregnant women such as herself to take advantage of the opportunity to get a vaccine for the H1N1 virus. She is 15 weeks pregnant and got the shot two weeks ago.

"For me, with the numbers of hands I shake and babies I kiss and backs I slap, it wasn't an option," Ms. Webb said. "We have a real health crisis in our country, and pregnant women need to do everything they can to protect themselves."

So far, Ohio has had 22 confirmed deaths related to H1N1, including three children. Only pediatric deaths are required to be reported to the state, a spokesman said, so the number of adult deaths related to H1N1 could be higher.

The number of suspected H1N1 cases in Toledo-area emergency rooms appears to be waning as more people are vaccinated, although Dr. Grossman said the decline could be the calm before the storm. The health department received 20,000 doses of H1N1 vaccine this week and expects to continue getting weekly shipments with thousands of doses, he said.

Emily Emahiser, Mrs. Kimbler's cousin, said she has decided to get an H1N1 vaccine shot.

She is in a high-risk category because of her age, which is 19.

"I didn't take it seriously," she said. "I thought, 'It's just another flu.' But now …"

A Kimbler Children's Fund has been established at KeyBank to benefit Mrs. Kimbler's three children.

Staff writer Tom Troy contributed to this report.

Contact Julie M. McKinnon at:
jmckinnon@theblade.com
or 419-724-6087.

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