Mother of two dies from the flu within a matter of days

PHOENIX (KSAZ) - A 20-year-old mother of two who was diagnosed with the flu on Monday, died one day later.

"She checked into the hospital at 7:30 and by 3:25 she was gone," said Stephanie Gonzales, her aunt.

Alani Murrieta, the mother of two-year-old AJ and 6-month-old Jr., was very healthy. Her family says she hardly ever got sick except for maybe the common cold every now and then.

Gonzales is still trying to come to terms with the sudden loss of her niece. Murrieta went home early from work on Sunday after not feeling well.

"Monday she was still feeling sick, so her sister took her to urgent care, her and her kids. They diagnosed them with the flu, sent her home with flu meds," Gonzales said.

Through the night, Murrieta got worse. Tuesday morning around 7:00 a.m., her mother took her to the hospital because she was having difficulty breathing.

"Her oxygen levels were low. They took an x-ray around 9 that morning, and they told her she had pneumonia, and it kind of just went down hill after that," Gonzales said.

Murrieta was put on a ventilator. Then her heart stopped.

'They were trying to resuscitate her, and they tried for several minutes and they told my sister there was nothing else they could do, that she was gone," Gonzales said.

Gonzales says doctors told them Murrieta had the flu that turned into pneumonia. She tells us Murrieta had no pre-existing condition.

"Never in a million years would we have thought that we would have lost her that day like this," Gonzales said.

Gonzales also says Murrieta didn't get the flu shot, however, there is no indication if that would have made a difference or not. 

The family has set up a GoFundMe account to help pay for funeral expenses.