Son of pediatrician dies after brief illness, parents attribute death to the flu: ‘It shows it can happen to any one’

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - The sudden death of a healthy, young man, his family believes due to the flu, is sparking a call out on social media.

Brent Teichman died ten days ago after showing flu-like symptoms, at just 29-years-old.

“Everything he did, he did with passion,” Brent’s mother Grace said. “He was a go-getter. He was so tenacious with everything he did.”

The Male High grad studied at University of Kentucky and had a huge passion for cooking.

“The one thing that makes us so happy if you can be that way in this situation is that Brent went out on top personally and professionally,” Brent’s father Jeb said.

Jeb is a pediatrician and Grace is a longtime nurse.

“I’ve always been an advocate for vaccination and to have this… the irony isn’t lost,” Jeb said. “It maybe hurts a little more.”

The Teichmans said Brent was perfectly healthy when they saw him three weeks ago.

“We reminded Brent to get his flu vaccine before we left because we were getting ours and he said it was on his to-do list,” said Grace.

A few days later, Brent was coughing, had body aches, a sore throat, and a fever.

His parents encouraged him to go to immediate care, which he did.

“They got home, he took his medicine that they prescribed, and he went to bed,” said Jeb.

Brent died that night.

“It was the phone call that no parent wants to get in the middle of the night,” Jeb said. “We traditionally think the complications are for people who have chronic health conditions, not all the time, and my son is an example.”

The Metro Public Health Department hasn’t confirmed a flu death just yet, but the Tiechmans attribute Brent’s death to the virus. In his obituary, in lieu of flowers, the family asked for flu shots.

“When I put that out the other day, I hadn’t known how many lives he touched,” Jeb said.

Brent’s story has inspired a series of #4Brent posts. People have been posting pictures after getting vaccinated in his honor.

“The message we want to send is if you don’t do this for yourself, do it for the people who love you so they do not have to walk in our shoes,” Jeb said.

The Tiechmans plan to start a non-profit to continue raising awareness for the flu.

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