By KATHERINE HOBY
A Howick mother is still seeking answers to why her fit, healthy daughter succumbed to a mystery virus within hours.
Joy Evans said her daughter, Bronwyn, 18, was working in California as a camp counsellor when she died last July.
She was teaching children wake boarding and water skiing and taking part in other outdoor activities. Bronwyn had been at the camp just a few weeks.
"It was a Thursday when she felt unwell with flu-type symptoms," Ms Evans said. "She went to the doctor on Friday morning and by 3 pm she was in a coma."
The Evans family flew to her bedside, but Bronwyn did not wake up. Four days later, she was declared brain dead and life support was switched off.
Ms Evans has just returned from a trip to the United States, where she spoke to the coroner and medical staff involved in her daughter's care before her death.
"I came away with no more answers than I went with," she said. "It is not that they are unhelpful, it's just that they have no answers to give me."
The mystery virus, which was first thought to be meningitis, has medical authorities stumped.
"We were told it was a virus. At first they thought it might be a type of bacteria with the speed it went through her body but they could find no trace of any bacteria. It is immensely frustrating."
Many doctors from around the United States had called the coroner, Ms Evans said.
They were curious about the case and the suspected virus that had felled a healthy young woman so quickly.
Ms Evans' partner, Robin Harris, said it was particularly hard to deal with Bronwyn's death when no one could tell them the cause of death.
"I just think there must be some book, some page or some similar case that somebody has seen which might give us an answer and some small closure," he said.
Authorities in California were keeping the case open.
Mother seeks answers on killer virus
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