Chesapeake mom dies from flu

CHESAPEAKE, Va - A 27-year-old Chesapeake woman died Saturday as a result of the flu. Angela Mefford left behind a seven-month-old baby boy and an eight-year-old girl.

"The last thing I got to say to her was, 'I love you and I'll see you tomorrow,'" a tearful Hank Mefford Sr. told WAVY.com.

Angela Mefford started coughing on Sunday. On Wednesday a doctor diagnosed it as H1N1. "Neither one of us was really too concerned about it cause it was all about the small kids and the older adults."

But by Friday Angela had developed pneumonia and was admitted to the hospital. "The longer we sat there and watched her the more bluer she got," Mefford added.

She died Saturday afternoon. The health department did not test for H1N1. Chesapeake's Health Director can only confirm Angela died from the flu and that she had underlying health risks.

Hank Jr. also got it but seems to be recovering well. Emotionally Hank Sr. says it's tough. His 8-year-old stepdaughter is taking it hard. He and the baby have moved in with his parents.

Janice Mefford choked back tears as she pointed to her grandson and said, "I gotta be strong for that one." That one who will only know his mother through photos and the memories his father will share.

"How wonderful she was. What good, loving mother she was."

The Mefford's are not only struggling emotionally, but financially as well. They don't have health insurance or a burial plot.

Altmeyer Funeral Home asks people who want to send donations to:

Altmeyer Funeral Home Southside Chapel
5792 Greenwich Rd.
Virginia Beach 23462.

Be sure to designate the money is to go to the Angela Mefford family.