The normally healthy teen died of COVID-19 the day after Christmas.
“I took her for tests that Saturday morning and Saturday night she was positive, but she kept adding new symptoms,” her mother, Deborah Simental, said.
His mother said he repeats the tragic chronology of last week.
“There was vomiting and he was suffering from chills and his body hurts,” Simental said.
Two days before Christmas, the 18-year-old was admitted to Silver Cross Hospital. His symptoms quickly worsened.
He later moved to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where doctors tried to save Sarah’s life.
“I know she fought because one of the last times I could talk to her on the phone, they took her from the usual room to the ICU and she said,‘ I’m going to be fine, Mom, ’and that was the ‘last,’ said Simental.
She didn’t make it.
“He went into cardiac arrest, he had a cerebral hemorrhage, his kidneys were deteriorating, he was just being eaten,” Simental said. “No parent should ever have to watch their child go through it. No one.”
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Sarah hadn’t been away from home much, so her mother isn’t sure how she contracted the virus.
The teen spent more time at home during the pandemic with his family and his dog Bailey.
His family shares an important message.
“Please take this coronavirus seriously,” his father Don Simental said.
Funeral services will be held Wednesday at Lawn Funeral Home in Orland Park. Instead of flowers, her family asks for donations to PAWS in Tinley Park where Sara spent much of her time.
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