5-year-old Marietta boy dies from complications of the flu

COBB COUNTY, Ga. — A 5-year-old Marietta boy who died from complications of the flu was remembered on Wednesday morning.

Eli Snook died on Saturday at a hospital. His parents first took him to the emergency room on Jan. 13 with flu-like symptoms.

His family told Channel 2's Chris Jose that a doctor gave the boy Tamiflu. His parents kept him home for a week then sent him back to day care on Jan. 22.

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Last Thursday, parents got a call that the boy had a 101 degree fever. His parents said they brought him back to urgent care.

"We prayed for a miracle Friday night. He got an infection in the brain. His brain swelled past the point of no return, and he went brain dead," said his father, Aaron Snook.

The parents were told by doctors to take him to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. Due to a weakened immune system from the flu, doctors told the parents the virus quickly attacked his body.

"It was a shock to me. It was shock," said the boy's mother, Leota Snook. "It's the after-effects of the flu that's killing these babies."

Georgia has been hit hard by the flu this season. On Wednesday, officials with Georgia Department of Public Health said at least 37 people have died from the virus.

The flu outbreak is so bad that Grady Memorial Hospital brought in a mobile emergency room unit to treat the excess number of patients visiting the hospital with flu-like symptoms.

Cox Media Group