The moment you missed: Heart-breaking interview brings Karl Stefanovic to tears
The parents of Madeline Jones, who died of influenza days before her 19th birthday, have spoken for the first time since she contracted the deadly flu.
In an interview with Karl Stefanovic, parents Damian and Danielle bravely shared the story of the sudden loss of their daughter.
The 18-year-old started showing mild flu symptoms before she died while holidaying with her boyfriend on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast in October.
“She just said she felt a bit off-colour and then all of a sudden they're telling me that she might not survive,” Danielle told Stefanovic on 60 Minutes.
“We just told her we loved her and she was going to be okay.
“But she wasn't.”
Five days after Madeline complained of flu symptoms, she fell into a coma and died shortly before her 19th birthday.
Doctors said the influenza and a bacterial infection resulted in sepsis, which is when chemicals released by the immune system cause organ failure.
Karl Stefanovic struggled to fight back the tears as Madeline’s parents shared the heartbreaking story.
In the days following her death, family, friends, co-workers and peers all paid tribute to the business and law student.
“She was very funny, beautiful and very smart and she loved animals,” her mother Danielle Nielsen said.
Madeline’s boyfriend, Callum Royle, shared the shock that he faced after losing his high school sweetheart so suddenly.
“It's hard to believe that only a month ago we were having a discussion about our future and we were pretty certain that we were going to spend the rest of our lives together,” he said.
While completing her degree, Madeline worked at burger chain Grill’d and coached children at The Samford Tennis Club.
Queensland’s health authorities said last year’s flu season was the worst the state has experienced.
Of the 52,000 who caught the flu, 5653 ended up in hospital.
Authorities have warned that this year’s flu virus could be even worse, with the young and elderly being most at risk.