Waverly, Ohio teenager on life support after getting the flu
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – A Waverly teen is on life support at Nationwide Children's Hospital after complications of the flu. Now, her mother is speaking out about the importance of getting vaccinated and donating blood.
A month ago, Jocey Tackett was a healthy 17-year-old girl, enjoying her senior year with friends and looking forward to her future. Now, she's fighting for her life.
'Animals were definitely her passion, and she was super looking forward to, you know, going to college next year and pursuing that degree,' said Renee Tackett, Jocey's mom.
Jocey is the middle child; she has an older and younger sister. After high school graduation, Jocey plans on attending Otterbein University to be part of the Zoology program.
'We were supposed to go next month to visit her sister. And Jocey would've had her 18th birthday in Ireland, and now she will most likely spend her 18th birthday in the hospital,' said Renee.
On a Sunday in February, Jocey began experiencing flu-like symptoms. By Tuesday, Renee says Jocey just wasn't looking right, so she took her to their local hospital.
'As soon as we got there, she coded,' said Renee.
So far, Jocey has spent nearly a month in the cardiac intensive care unit at Nationwide Children's Hospital. While there she tested positive for Flu A and Strep A.
'Her body didn't fight that off and she went septic,' said Renee, 'So it went all through her whole body. So that stopped her heart, and her lungs are completely destroyed.'
Since being at Nationwide, Jocey has made some progress. Her heart is now functioning on its own, but her lungs are badly damaged. After watching her daughter code twice and fight for her life, Renee knew she needed to become an advocate for blood donations and vaccines.
'She received, I don't know, exact number, but the nurses tried to figure it out and probably 30 units of blood and about 15 units of platelets and six of plasma. So, without those, again, she wouldn't be here,' she said.
One thing Jocey really needed was platelets, which Renee says were not easy to come by.
'Every time I would be so nervous that they weren't going to be able to find the platelets that she needed, and every time they came through,' said Renee.
According to Dr. Jason Newland, the Chief of Infectious Diseases at Nationwide, donating blood and platelets is equally as important as getting the vaccine, especially for patients critically ill with the flu.
'When you get very critically ill and land in the intensive care unit with many factors, including just having, you know, just a bad infection that might have a bacterial component to it. Platelets and blood cells, red blood cells can be very, very important for the supportive care that they require,' he said.
While we do not know if this contributed to her extreme symptoms, Jocey did not get the flu shot. Her mom said that they never took the flu seriously, until now. If you've been debating getting the flu shot, Renee says to use this as a sign.
'Protect yourself and protect your family, because, I mean, our lives were completely destroyed in a second with no warning,' she said, 'You just don't think anything like this can ever happen. But it's not just my daughter. This is happening. I mean, all over, especially in Ohio.'
Dr. Newland says that the community needs to come together and identify why getting the flu shot is important.
'Influenza is a severe disease. It comes quick. And then one might say it can be really, really destructive to people and families in their lives and our preventative strategies have really been focused within the vaccination piece because we know they can be effective against serious disease,' he said.
Renee lives roughly an hour and a half away from the hospital, but thanks to the Ronald McDonald House she has had a place to sleep while remaining close to her daughter. She says she's thankful for the staff and volunteers there and grateful for the staff at Nationwide Children's hospital.
To find the nearest location offering the flu vaccine near you, click here. If you'd like to donate blood or platelets, click here to find a place near you. If you'd like to support the Tackett family, visit this GoFundMe page.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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