--- title: Weatherford Teacher Dies From Flu Complications description: Second-grade teacher Heather Holland from Weatherford, Texas died after she went into septic shock from flu complications. canonical: https://time.com/5135455/weatherford-teacher-dies-from-flu/ author: Alix Langone article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-02-06T17:25:06.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-12T22:16:39.000Z article:section: Health og:title: 38-Year-Old Mom of 2 Dies From Flu After Refusing Costly Meds og:description: She ultimately died from septic shock in the hospital og:url: https://time.com/5135455/weatherford-teacher-dies-from-flu/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt244019bed3987c93/698926d2bc6cfc277b3e4eff/heather-holland-flu-death.jpg?branch=production&width=597&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 597 og:image:height: 336 og:image:alt: heather-holland-flu-death.jpg og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 38-Year-Old Mom of 2 Dies From Flu After Refusing Costly Meds twitter:description: She ultimately died from septic shock in the hospital twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt244019bed3987c93/698926d2bc6cfc277b3e4eff/heather-holland-flu-death.jpg?branch=production&width=597&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 38-Year-Old Mom of 2 Dies From Flu After Refusing Costly Meds > Sponsored content. 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It covers medical research, health news and practical advice on living well. #### Where can I get reliable health news by email? Health Matters is TIME's weekday health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free weekday newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-health-2026q3/newsletters?i=b048c24d-d6c6-47cd-97d7-2a0074d9d118&cr=time-nl-health-2026q3-v1) by [Alix Langone](https://time.com/author/alix-langone/) ## Alix Langone Updated: Dec 12, 2023 10:16 PM UTCPublished: Feb 6, 2018 5:25 PM UTC  GoFundMe/Memorial Fund For Heather M. Holland by [Alix Langone](https://time.com/author/alix-langone/) ## Alix Langone Updated: Dec 12, 2023 10:16 PM UTCPublished: Feb 6, 2018 5:25 PM UTC A second-grade teacher in Weatherford, Texas, died Sunday following complications from the flu. [Heather Holland](https://www.gofundme.com/memorial-fund-for-heather-m-holland), who was 38 years old, started to feel sick last Monday and went to a doctor who prescribed her Tamiflu Wednesday, [her husband Frank Holland](http://www.wfaa.com/news/health/weatherford-second-grade-teacher-dies-after-getting-the-flu/514923852) told WFAA. But Heather Holland did not buy the Tamiflu, originally believing it was too expensive, and only started taking it once her husband purchased it for her a day later, he told the network. Holland was rushed to the emergency room Friday night where she became septic, and ultimately died from septic shock, her husband told WFAA, though her official cause of death has not yet been released by the Weatherford ISD school district. The school where she taught, Bose Ikard Elementary School, made counselors available for students, parents and staff struggling with the loss of the popular teacher, [according to The Dallas Morning News](https://www.dallasnews.com/business/health-care/2018/02/05/weatherford-elementary-teacher-dies-flu-complications-district-says), which also reported that the Weather ISD district has been deep-cleaning area schools since December. Holland’s school was most recently deep-cleaned Feb. 2, according to the district’s written statement. Holland, who had no previous medical conditions, leaves behind a a 10-year-old daughter and seven-year-old son, her husband said. Instances of the flu remain high throughout Texas, with 13 influenza-related outbreaks having been reported so far this flu season, but it is too soon to determine whether flu activity has peaked for the state this season, [according to the Texas Department of State Health Services.](http://www.dshs.texas.gov/IDCU/disease/influenza/surveillance/2017---2018-Texas-Influenza-Surveillance-Activity-Report.xls) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5135455/weatherford-teacher-dies-from-flu/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5135455/weatherford-teacher-dies-from-flu/"},"headline":"38-Year-Old Mom of 2 Dies From Flu After Refusing Costly Meds","datePublished":"2018-02-06T17:25:06.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-12T22:16:39.000Z","description":"She ultimately died from septic shock in the hospital after being rushed to the emergency room","url":"https://time.com/5135455/weatherford-teacher-dies-from-flu/","keywords":["Texas","onetime","healthytime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt244019bed3987c93/698926d2bc6cfc277b3e4eff/heather-holland-flu-death.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alix Langone","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alix-langone/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt244019bed3987c93/698926d2bc6cfc277b3e4eff/heather-holland-flu-death.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"heather-holland-flu-death.jpg","caption":"Heather Holland, a Texas teacher who died from flu complications","creditText":"GoFundMe/Memorial Fund For Heather M. 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