By the time it was realized Matthew Walker had swine flu, it was too late.
Walker, 23, died last week in Santa Rosa of the H1N1 virus after he was admitted to the hospital Dec. 27 with what doctors believed was pneumonia, the Santa Rosa Press Democrat reported.
MORE: Flu Kills Otherwise Healthy 23-Year-Old Santa Rosa Man
Before he died last Wednesday, he was put into a coma to alleviate his severe coughing -- and only then did doctors discover he had H1N1, or swine flu, the newspaper reported.
He is the fourth person in the North Coast region to die of the strain of flu that's notable because it affects the young and otherwise-healthy, the newspaper reported.
His family said Saturday that "there is some anger."
Walker called in sick to his grocery store job just before Christmas, the newspaper reported. He was discharged from the hospital on Dec. 26 with a pneumonia diagnosis, but called 911 the day after to report that he was having trouble breathing.
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That he died "13 days after seeking medical treatment" troubles some, the newspaper reported.
