Serese Marotta of Baldwinsville wants to make sure what happened to her son doesn't happen to anyone else.

"He was in kindergarten at the time. He was 5 years old,” said Marotta. “Threw up on the school bus, innocent enough, the school called us told us to come pick him up.”

Joseph never made it back to school.

Her beloved son died of the flu ten days after the school called.

Marotta then quit her job as a scientist, built an office in her home, and is now the chief operating officer of 'Families Fighting Flu.'

It is now her life's mission to spread how serious the flu can be.

"I want them to know that Joseph's story is not unique. And that every year, healthy children and adults lose their lives to the flu. The flu is serious, it's not just a bad cold," said Marotta.

The Onondaga County Health Department agrees — and this year is especially bad.

"There have been 657 cases of flu in our county. In the state report, Central New York has the highest rate," said Dr. Quoc Nguyen, Onondaga County Health Department medical director.

They say this year is very serious for various reasons.

"The season starts earlier, we have more severe weather than other parts of the state, and we have a bit more older folks," said Nguyen.

And there are other reasons, beyond the local level.

Health officials in Central New York and across the country are also concerned about their resources to help fight the flu, a result of Hurricane Maria.

"One of the largest companies that make IV fluid and IV bags is in Puerto Rico, so it was significantly impacted,” said Nguyen.

So while the number of people with the flu is increasing, IV bags are in short supply, making it all the more important to be proactive with your health.

"So I always go back to my own experience and think ‘if I didn't know that about the flu, there must be so many that don't,’” said Marotta.