A Tinley Park mother says her daughter died just three days after the teen, who was therefore healthy, was hospitalized with coronavirus just before Christmas.
Sarah Simental, a Lincoln-Way East senior who just turned 18 last month, first reported a minor headache on Dec. 16, her mother Deborah Simental said. The next day she started to feel congested and had a sore throat.
“My immediate thought was that these are symptoms of COVID,” Deborah Simental said.
Outside her home, Simental had only seen her boyfriend before showing symptoms, his mother said.
On Friday, his symptoms continued with fever, chills and vomiting.
On Saturday morning, her mother took her for a coronavirus test and that night her results came back positive.
Wednesday morning, Simental went to Silver Cross Hospital after starting to experience pain in his left shoulder. While there, oxygen levels dropped and Simental was placed on a ventilator and taken to the intensive care unit.
Due to coronavirus protocols, Deborah Simental was unable to see her daughter while she was hospitalized, but had a telephone conversation with her when she was taken to the ICU.
“I said,‘ He’ll be fine ’and he knew he was going to miss Christmas: he loved Christmas,” Deborah Simental said. “The last words he said to me is, ‘Mom, she’ll be fine.’
On Christmas Eve, Simental said he was finally able to visit his daughter, but by that time the teen was already sedated.
“I can only hope she could hear me talking to her,” Deborah Simental said.
On Christmas Day, the 18-year-old was being taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center and died on December 26.
“It was so fast,” Deborah Simental said. “She had no underlying condition. She was a very healthy young woman and 18. We were proactive with health, we had all been vaccinated against the flu and we knew the importance because I stressed it all the time when it came to social distancing and make sure we have masks. “
According to the Cook County Medical Office, Simental died of acute hypoxic respiratory failure due to the coronavirus.
“It took her. It took her: an 18-year-old perfectly healthy girl,” Deborah Simental said. “I still can’t get my head around it.”
Cement Family
The family said it is still unclear how Simental contracted the virus.
Her boyfriend’s mother, boyfriend and father tested negative after her diagnosis.
“I really have no idea how he hired her,” Deborah Simental said.
A Tinley Park mother says her daughter died just three days after the teen, who was therefore healthy, was hospitalized with coronavirus just before Christmas. Regina Waldroup, of NBC 5, reports.
Simental’s family said they hope sharing their story will help others recognize the severity of the pandemic.
“There are people who don’t take it seriously. Her father and I are here to tell you it’s real,” Deborah Simental said. “There will be more holidays, birthdays, all these events that we won’t be able to do. You’ll have them again. That took my daughter and we won’t be able to have them again.”
A visit to Simental is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon in Orland Park, but due to coronavirus restrictions, only 10 people are allowed at a time and masks and social distancing are needed. The family also plans to hold a private funeral.
Simental is remembered as a free, friendly animal lover who volunteered at local animal shelters. Her obituary says she was “loved by her furry best friend Bailey.”
Instead of flowers, her family requests that donations be made to PAWS of Tinley Park at pawstinleypark.org/donate.
“Please wear a mask, social distance. Don’t worry about getting together for these events, just wait until this is under control,” Deborah Simental said. “You are not in the position that we are in his father and I right now. No one should have to bury their son. No father should have to watch his son go through what my daughter went through. “It was a nightmare.”