Northwell doctors expect early flu surge, urge residents to get vaccinated
Northwell doctors urge vaccination after Long Island man spent 116 days hospitalized earlier this year with severe flu complications.
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Cold and flu season has arrived and doctors say they are expecting a rough flu season this year.
For Frank Bosco, of East Northport, the dangers of the flu became painfully real.
Bosco spent 116 days, nearly four months, in the hospital last year after the flu progressed into pneumonia.
"I got lucky that I came back," says Bosco.
Bosco, who had no prior hospitalizations, was placed in a medically induced coma and on a ventilator as doctors fought to save his life.
"It's very, very tough to come back," says Bosco.
Bosco said he did not receive a flu shot and now believes that was a mistake.
"You don't want to get sick like I did," he says.
"It ravaged his body," says Mangala Narasimhan, senior vice president of critical care services at Northwell Health. "His kidneys started to fail from the flu. That's how severe it was. His blood pressure was extremely low and he wasn't awake for a solid two months that he was here."
Doctors are encouraging people to get a flu shot, saying it could save lives.
Northwell Health is currently conducting about 5,000 flu tests per week.
"It prevents 40% to 50% of cases, depending on who's getting the vaccine," says Bruce Farber, chief public health and epidemiology officer at Northwell Health. "But it is very good at preventing deaths, hospitalizations and serious illness."
Doctors believe the flu will peak during the holiday season this year.
"That's a good two months earlier than the last couple of years," says Dwayne Breining, senior vice president of lab services at Northwell Health.
Bosco was discharged from the hospital in May and is still recovering.
"When I woke up and when I saw them, the pictures on the walls made me stronger because I want to be there for them," says Bosco.
His wife, Theresa Bosco, said the family held onto hope throughout his recovery.
"My younger son was planning his wedding, which I'm very happy to say, it was last week, and Frank was there with us," she says.
The Bosco family hopes Frank's experience serves as a reminder of how serious the flu can become and why doctors are encouraging people to get vaccinated.
