Aurora girl beats H1N1 infection after weeks-long battle at Children's Hospital

Keyona Richardson spent more than two weeks in the Aurora hospital's intensive care unit battling H1N1, more commonly known as the swine flu.

Her mother, Kristie Richardson, said Keyona walked out of the hospital with little to no damage to her lungs, which is sometimes not the case for infections like this.

Kristie told Denver7 her daughter is no longer reliant on breathing machines. However, Keyona was sent home with an inhaler.

Early signs of this strain of flu were seen when Keyona Richardson was sent home from school on January 31 with a 102-degree fever.

Before the Swine Flu diagnosis, a doctor told her parents that Keyona was suffering from pneumonia.

The young Aurora girl was admitted to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) at Children's Hospital Colorado at midnight on February 1.

Keyona's parents told Denver7 the 10-year-old had her flu shot.

When asked why this strain impacted Keyona so drastically, Dr. Suchitra Rao with Children's Hospital Colorado explained certain strains still can overwhelm the system, even with a flu vaccination.

Since then, 300 kids were either under observation or were admitted to the hospital for the flu. This is double the number of patients the hospital usually sees. Rao said hospitalizations are up more than double as well.