This flu season has left some Cincinnati families swamped with medical costs, and their friends have started GoFundMes to help them out.
Kim Francis, a project manager and cosmetologist in Mount Carmel, started a GoFundMe for her friend Sandra “Dri” Marquez, who’s grappling with severe illness and the death of her partner at the same time. Marquez was hospitalized with the flu just days after her partner Danny Moore died at home from the same illness.
“Her partner and her came down with what they thought was a bad cold,” said Francis, who was Marquez’s neighbor for 15 years and has been her best friend for longer. “It just all turned very quickly.”
Moore and Marquez’s 8-year-old son was also hospitalized for four days at Cincinnati Children’s with severe flu symptoms before being discharged last week, according to Francis.
Marquez, who was vaccinated because she recently received a liver transplant, is stable and was taken off of ventilation this week. Still, her recovery is expected to be long. And because Moore was the breadwinner of the family, the GoFundMe is meant to help Marquez and her family get back on their feet.
In the meantime, Marquez’s 26-year-old daughter Ainslee has taken over caring for her 8-year-old brother and 16-year-old sister.
“She’s getting everyone to school,” Francis said. “She’s making lunches, she’s doing homework, she’s making sure people are fed.”
As Americans struggle to cover bills, more turn to GoFundMe
Other Cincinnati area families are also facing financial challenges from flu care or using GoFundMe to ask for help.
Friends of two other Cincinnati area families started GoFundMes to help 6-year-old Sophia Olsen and high school senior Eden Manktelow, both of whom ended up in comas after experiencing life-threatening flu complications.
One-third of all donations made through the website help people struggling to pay for medical care, former CEO Rob Solomon told CBS News in 2019, and data shows that the amount of money donated to help people cover medical expenses and other bills has risen over time.
According to GoFundMe’s annual report for 2024, fundraising for “essential expenses” quadrupled from the year prior.
Flu activity remains high but hospitalizations trending down
Flu hospitalizations and emergency department visits last week are each down by more than 20% from the previous week, according to the Ohio Department of Health’s influenza activity tracker, but flu activity in the state is still “very high.”
Three Ohio children have died so far from flu-related causes during the 2024-25 flu season – one each in Allen, Gallia, and Cuyahoga counties, according to the Ohio Department of Health. Two of the children were not vaccinated.
Bruce Vanderhoff, the director of Ohio health department, called influenza a “common” but “serious health threat.”
“We urge parents to protect their kids,” said Vanderhoff after Ohio saw its first pediatric flu-related mortality of the season, in late February. “It’s not too late for parents and kids to get a flu vaccine. It may very well prevent you or your loved ones from getting seriously ill.”
Anyone who would like to donate to the family of Sandra “Dri” Marquez, or any other Cincinnati family struggling with flu-related costs, can do so using the following links.
To donate to Dri and her family, click here: https://tinyurl.com/Driandfamily
To donate to the family of Sophia Olsen, click here: https://tinyurl.com/SophiaOlsen
To donate to Stacie Allen and her family, click here: https://tinyurl.com/stacieallen
