A fourth-grader in Texas has died during sleep three days after testing positive for COVID-19 despite feeling only mild symptoms.
Makenzie Gongora, 9, had been put to bed by her mother Kristle in the early hours of Feb. 2 and never woke up, her family said TODAY.
Makenzie tested positive for COVID on Jan. 29 after having a headache with vomiting in the extracurricular program.
The extracurricular program staff caught Makenzie’s temperature and found she had a fever and her mother took her to Brooke Army Medical Center.
Doctors tested Makenzie to detect streptococcal flu and influenza, but the tests were negative. He tested positive for COVID-19.
Makenzie Gongora, 9, died earlier this month after testing positive for coronavirus
Makenzie, in the center, appears with her parents Nathan, on the left, and Kristle, on the right
Makenzie’s family has said they were unaware of any underlying medical condition before his death
The family has ordered an autopsy to determine the cause of death, which they believe was caused by COVID-19
Doctors told Kristle Gongora to take her daughter home to “make her comfortable” and “control her fever,” said Victoria Southworth, Makenzie’s maternal aunt.
“Kenzie had no breathing problems,” Southworth, 37, said.
There was nothing important. All symptoms were mild.
Makenzie’s aunts wrote in a GoFundMe that the young woman “seemed to be recovering over the weekend with waves of symptoms coming and going.”
But Makenzie began to feel tired and went to bed in the early hours of February 1st.
“My sister-in-law checked her out later in the night and realized she was no longer breathing and couldn’t find the pulse,” her paternal aunt Erica Gongora said.
Makenzie died sleeping on her father’s birthday and only three days before her mother’s birthday.
“She was small, small, she looked like a pixie fairy, but she was very protective, sweet, affectionate and very affectionate,” Southworth said. I wanted to be everyone’s friend. It leaves a huge hole in our hearts, that’s for sure.
The girl’s family said they didn’t know if she had any underlying illness, but she noticed TODAY that Makenzie was small for her age.
A GoFundMe started for Makenzie’s family to pay for her funeral expenses has raised nearly $ 70,000
Both aunts said at the exit that Makenzie’s body has been sent to a lab in Dallas, Texas for examination and is still pending an autopsy.
The family has not yet received confirmation that Makenzie died due to COVID-19. But Southworth told the San Antonio Express News that his family firmly believed it was caused by the virus.
‘We are awaiting the forensic doctor’s report; but our family suspects it, because we don’t know anything else that could have caused this, ”Southworth said.
‘COVID has no age limit: my niece was 9 years old, she hadn’t even touched the double digits. CVVID IS ESSENTIAL.
Makenzie attended Scarborough Elementary in Northside Independent School District, according to Express News.
The school district has reported the deaths of the families of its classmates and has had additional counselors available for students and staff who mourn their loss.
“Our thoughts are with his family during this very difficult time,” Scarborough administrators said in a statement.
Kristle is a leading frontline worker in the medical field and had been vaccinated because she works with vulnerable patients.
Nathan Gongora, Makenzie’s father, is in the Army National Guard and also tested positive for the virus with the couple’s other daughter, Sophia.
The family is currently in distress while being quarantined, which will delay Makenzie’s funeral, outlets reported.
The GoFundMe has raised about $ 70,000 to pay for his funeral expenses. Makenzie’s body will be sent back to San Antonio after the autopsy and will be buried in Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery.