Kids & Family
Leesburg High School Student Dies From Flu Complications: Reports
Heritage High School and other Loudoun schools are holding a "green out" Tuesday to honor Katie Giovanniell, whose favorite color was green.
LEESBURG, VA — A Leesburg high school student died Friday from complications related to the flu, according to news reports. Katie Giovanniello, a 16-year-old sophomore at Heritage High School, was diagnosed by a doctor Feb. 2 with influenza B.
Katie spent most of last week resting in bed, with her mother, Colette Giovanniello, caring for her at night, according to NBC4. Katie's condition failed to improve by last Thursday, so her mother got ready to take her back to the doctor. However, her mother told NBC4 that she found Katie lifeless, apparently suffering from cardiac arrest.
Katie's mother told the news station she wishes she hadn't brought her home from the doctor on Feb. 2. "I would have made sure she was at the hospital sooner," her mother said in an interview with NBC4. "I didn’t know that it wasn’t just flu that wouldn’t go away, and it didn’t and it killed her."
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Heritage High School and other schools in Loudoun County are holding a "green out" Tuesday to honor Katie, whose favorite color was green. "As you may of heard, this past friday Heritage lost a student. We want to show our support and stand with HHS in this time of loss. We ask that EVERY student and staff member wear green to support HHS and Katie’s family," students at Rock Ridge High School in Ashburn wrote in a tweet.
In an interview with Patch, Colette Giovanniello said it has been extremely tough dealing with the loss of Katie, who had just turned 16. Giovanniello has two other daughters, Katie's twin sister and a 17-year-old.
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A GoFundMe page has been created for Katie's family. "Katie was tragically taken due to an unexpected illness," the GoFundMe page says. "Her family and friends are devastated. Her Sisters and Mom have a long road to recovery from this loss and will need all the support they can get as they put the pieces of their life back together."
Colette Giovanniello said she hopes her daughter's death leads to people paying closer attention to flu symptoms if they persist.
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