Girl who died of flu sent home from hospital with 104 degree fever, family says

By Caitlin Mota
The Jersey Journal

NORTH BERGEN – Stephanie Conteron had plans to take her daughter Nevaeh to see "Aladdin" on Broadway tonight.

But instead of enjoying the show with the beloved 6-year-old, Conteron and her grieving family are preparing for the girl's funeral this weekend.

Nevaeh Hernandez, a kindergarten student at Lincoln School, is the second child in New Jersey to die of the flu this season and her family says her tragic death likely could have been prevented, had she not been sent home from the hospital with a fever near 104 degrees.

The 6-year-old came home from school Friday afternoon and said she had a headache, family attorney Louis Zayas said during a press conference today. Nevaeh's mother, Stephanie Conteron, gave her daughter some medicine but soon noticed her temperature began to rise. She took her to Hoboken University Medical Center that night.

After more than three hours, Nevaeh was seen by a nurse and a physician's assistant and was told both strep throat and flu tests came back negative, Zayas said, adding that she was sent home despite having a high fever.

Conteron, an emergency medical technician, knew something was still wrong Saturday. Navaeh's temperature spiked to over 105 degrees and her family brought her to Hackensack University Hospital where she was diagnosed with the flu within an hour of arriving, Zayas said.