"Yes" was the last word Melissa Ann Cantu said to her husband nearly two weeks ago as she gasped for breath and agreed to go onto a ventilator after she was stricken with the swine flu.

"We both just cried," Abram Cantu said.

The 31-year-old pediatrician's office manager and mother of two died about 11:30 p.m. Monday at Christus Spohn Hospital South.

She is the second person in Nueces County to die as a result of contracting the H1N1 virus. There have been 128 confirmed cases in the county, health officials said.

"We're in shock from how fast this went," her husband said. "She has never had health problems before, and has been such a fighter, but her lungs couldn't fight off the viral pneumonia and swine flu virus.

"Half my heart is gone now," he said. "The other half now has to be concentrated on my kids."

The couple had been married about seven years and have two children, Brittany Nicole Aguilar, 12, and A.J. Cantu, which is short for Abram Junior, 3. She also helped raise her husband's sister, Rebecca Maria Gonzalez, 18, from age 12, after their mother died.

Cantu had body aches the day before leaving on a trip with her husband and two children, said Dr. Luisa Lira, her employer.

The 1996 graduate of Ray High School was with her family in San Antonio, after a day at Schlitterbahn in New Braunfels, when her symptoms escalated.

She went on rides at the water park on July 18, and she and her husband went to dinner before she started coughing and got a headache.

"She kept saying she was fine, and even went shopping at the mall," her husband said.

They returned to Corpus Christi the next day and then she stayed in bed the rest of the day. Her husband asked if she wanted to go to a clinic, she said no.

"I believed she knew what was best," he said.

In the morning, she sought medical help, he said.

After X-rays, she was hospitalized.

"Melissa was very responsible, loyal, and organized with a sense of leadership," said Lira, who hired Cantu about eight years ago. "But more than anything she was a friend to all of us," Lira said, sobbing. "She was always there to listen to our personal problems, never judgmental, with solid advice.

"We are going to miss her very, very, much."

Co-workers and friends have planned a barbecue to raise funds for Cantu's medical costs and funeral.

A rosary will be recited at 7 p.m. today at Ss. Cyril and Methodius Catholic Church. Mass will be celebrated at the church at 10 a.m. Thursday. Burial will be in Memory Gardens Cemetery.

Cantu also is survived by her parents, Guadalupe and Elvia Gonzalez of Corpus Christi, She had two brothers and four sisters.

Nueces County's first death associated with swine flu was Carlos Garnica, 33, who died May 6 of viral pneumonia at Northwest Regional Hospital. After his death, authorities confirmed he had swine flu.

"This virus has proven to be lethal," said Dr. William Burgin, health authority of the Corpus Christi-Nueces County Public Health District. "People have a tendency to consider swine flu as a mild flu," he said "and this virus shouldn't be taken lightly."

Two other adults and two children, who now are hospitalized, are improving, Burgin said. Another case was confirmed Tuesday in a pregnant woman, who was transferred during the weekend to The University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston because of concerns for the baby, he said.

Burgin said anyone with flu symptoms should see their doctor immediately for a Tamiflu prescription. And when vaccines are available people should consider them immediately, he said.

Abram Cantu echoes warnings from health officials.

"People have to get help at the first sign of symptoms," he said. "Tell everyone, they must, I don't want anyone going through what my family has."

"I would do anything for my wife, and I couldn't do anything," he said.

How to help

What: Barbecue fundraiser

When: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday

Where: Pediatric office of Dr. Luisa Lira, 4621 Staples St.

Donations: An account in the names of Melissa and Abram Cantu has been set up at Navy Army Federal Credit Union.