Amanda Phillips, the mother of a 4-year-old girl who nearly died and ended up blind as a result of the flu, is urging parents to get their children vaccinated. "If I can stop one child from getting sick, that's what I want to do," Phillips said. "It's terrible to see your child suffer like this."

Phillips’ daughter Jade DeLucia, who hadn’t been vaccinated, came down with the flu before Christmas and spent nearly two weeks in the ICU at the University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital. "She is lucky to be alive," said one of her physicians, Dr. Theresa Czech. "She's a little fighter. And I think she's super lucky."

Jade’s parents, who had to take time off from work and have started a GoFundMe page to cover their medical bills, said their daughter’s flu began with a low-grade fever, which they managed with medication. Five days later, on Christmas Eve, Jade was found unresponsive in her bed. By the time the family reached Covenant Medical Center, Jade was having a seizure. She was immediately airlifted to the children's hospital at the University of Iowa in Iowa City.

"I didn't think I was going to see her again at that point," Phillips said. "I really didn't. Just from looking at her, I really honestly didn't think I was going to see her."

On Christmas Day, Jade’s parents were informed that she had encephalopathy and had suffered significant brain damage. At that point, it was unclear if she’d ever wake up. Dr. Czech, a pediatric neurologist, diagnosed Jade with acute necrotizing encephalopathy, a type of encephalopathy caused by a viral infection, on December 31, and prescribed steroids to relieve the swelling in her brain.

Days later, Jade began to respond, but her parents noticed that she was unable to see. According to Dr. Czech, "It affected the part of her brain that perceives sight, and we don't know if she's going to get her vision back. In about three to six months from now, we'll know. Whatever recovery she has at six months, that's likely all she's going to get," adding that Jade may also have long-term learning disabilities.

Phillips says that both her daughters were vaccinated against the flu last year, but she was unaware that a new vaccine had to be administered each year. Given that the flu virus changes from year to year, the vaccine also varies. Flu vaccines are available near the end of the summer, and the CDC advises parents to vaccinate their children by the end of October to protect them against flu in the winter.

RELATED: Over 1300 People Have Already Died From The Flu Since This October

Each year, dozens of unvaccinated children, who seem to be perfectly healthy, die as a result of the flu and thousands more need to be hospitalized, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). A 2014 study showed that flu vaccine decreases a child's risk of being hospitalized by 74%, while a 2017 study showed that the flu vaccine also drastically reduces a child's risk of dying from the flu, according to the CDC.

Source: CNN