Quenten Thomas, 27, a father of three young kids in Maryville, Tennessee, died last week due to complications of the flu.
He was coughing and having trouble breathing, his father, Robert Thomas, told NBC News.
“It hurt really bad when he coughed, and he was having trouble catching (his) breath,” Robert Thomas recalled. He’d been using a finger monitor to keep track of his blood oxygen levels. “He noticed his oxygen was dropping, so he went to the hospital asking for oxygen first,” Robert Thomas said.