A day that started with a routine doctor visit ends in girl's death

Rebecca Prohaska reflects on the death of her daughter Meredith, a 12-year-old who died only hours after a routine doctor’s visit in which she received the first of three HPV vaccinations.
Rebecca Prohaska reflects on the death of her daughter Meredith, a 12-year-old who died only hours after a routine doctor’s visit in which she received the first of three HPV vaccinations. Credit: Rick Wood
Aug. 07, 2014
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By Mark Johnson of the Journal Sentinel

Aug. 07, 2014 0

UPDATE: Girl's death not caused by vaccination, medical examiner says

At the end of a long, terrible day on July 30, Rebecca Prohaska consented to donate her 12-year-old daughter's organs, tissues and bones.

Later, the medical examiner asked permission to take the Waukesha child's brain. It might be the only way to determine why Meredith Prohaska, a vigorous girl who played basketball, swam, dove and dreamed of a career in art, collapsed on the floor of her home and died. In a few weeks, she would have entered the seventh grade at Butler Middle School.

That morning, Meredith had a routine visit to the doctor and a routine vaccination for human papillomavirus. Afterward, she felt sleepy. As far as Rebecca Prohaska could tell, those were the only clues to the girl's death.

The mother hated allowing Meredith's brain to be removed. It would not be with her in the casket. But she told the medical examiner, "Yes."

"I need an answer," she said. "I need to know why. Twelve years was not enough."

Meredith's heart stayed with her body, the one organ Prohaska could not bear to part with.

No cause of death has been determined for Meredith Prohaska, her mother said. The family is waiting for results of tests searching for toxins or disease-causing microorganisms. It may take several months to receive the analysis of her brain.

In the meantime, Rebecca Prohaska took Meredith's 6-year-old sister, Margaret, and 9-year-old brother, Patrick, to the doctor. She wanted to be sure that whatever killed Meredith was not afflicting the others. Both were pronounced healthy.

Prohaska wonders if her daughter had a severe reaction to the HPV vaccine, but so far there is no medical evidence to support that.

"It's the only thing that was different this whole summer," the mother said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta said there are two vaccines for HPV, Gardisil and Cervarix, both of which have been determined through clinical trials and post-licensing tests to be safe. The vaccines are given routinely to 11- and 12-year-old children.

Human papillomavirus, spread through sexual contact, is common and can cause some types of cancer in both men and women.

Meredith had asthma and kept an inhaler where she could find it. She had been fine all summer. Aside from an eye infection when was 3 and a broken pinkie at a basketball game, she'd never had cause to visit the hospital.

She was like other 12-year-old girls. She liked selfies and spent a little too much time on Facebook. She was discovering boys. She got in trouble from time to time, like the time she pierced her lip at the urging of her Facebook friends.

"She said, 'Mom, you're too strict.' Then she'd say, 'Mom, I love you,'" Prohaska said.

Meredith's basketball coach last year called her "The Beast" because of her rebounding skills. She had started drawing with charcoals and pastels. She wanted to travel to Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. She liked to befriend the person who didn't have any friends.

On July 30, she went to see her doctor, arriving early. Around 10:30 that morning she received the vaccine.

"I want to go to the zoo," she told her mother on the drive home. Soon afterward, Meredith said she felt tired and wanted to nap.

She napped on and off all afternoon.

Around 4 p.m., Rebecca Prohaska returned home after buying food from Taco Bell for dinner. She found Meredith lying face down on the living room floor. Her sister, Margaret, was lying beside her trying to cuddle.

"She won't answer me," Margaret said.

Meredith had vomited, too. Prohaska felt her face. She felt hot. Her lips were purple. She was not breathing and had no pulse.

The mother began performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

"When I blew into her mouth, it kept coming out of her nose as a snoring sound," she said.

As she tried to revive her daughter, she phoned the police. The call came at around 4:15 p.m. Meredith was taken to Waukesha Memorial Hospital.

She was declared dead shortly after 5 p.m.

Her funeral will be noon Saturday at Randle-Dable Funeral Home, 1110 South Grand Ave., Waukesha.

"Anybody who wants to celebrate her life is welcome," Prohaska said. "Her life is worth celebrating."

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About Mark Johnson

Mark Johnson covers health and science. He is a Pulitzer Prize winner and three-time finalist.

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