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A fourth-grade student from Texas died in her sleep three days after testing positive for COVID-19 when she was experiencing only mild symptoms.
Makenzie Gongora, 9, had been laid in bed by her mother Kristle in the early hours of February 2 and never woke up, her family said TODAY.
Makenzie tested positive for COVID on Jan. 29 after having a headache with vomiting during his after-school program.
The after-school program staff took Makenzie’s temperature and discovered that she had a fever and she was taken by her mother to Brooke Army Medical Center.
Makenzie has been tested by doctors for strep throat and the flu, but the tests came back negative. She has tested positive for COVID-19.
Makenzie Gongora, 9, died earlier this month after testing positive for coronavirus
Makenzie, center, is pictured with her parents Nathan, left, and Kristle, right
Makenzie’s family said they were not aware of any underlying medical conditions prior to her death
Family ordered autopsy to determine cause of death, which they believe was caused by COVID-19
Doctors told Kristle Gongora to bring her daughter home to ‘make her comfortable’ and ‘watch her fever’, said Makenzie’s maternal aunt Victoria Southworth.
“ Kenzie had no problems with breathing, ” Southworth, 37, told the newspaper.
“Nothing major was happening. All the symptoms were mild.
Makenzie’s aunts wrote in a GoFundMe that the girl “seemed to be recovering over the weekend with waves of symptoms coming and going.”
But Makenzie started to feel tired and went to bed early on February 1.
“ My sister-in-law later checked her at night and found that she was no longer breathing and couldn’t find a pulse, ” her paternal aunt Erica Gongora said.
Makenzie died in her sleep on her father’s birthday and just three days before her mother’s birthday.
“ She was tiny, petite, kind of like a little pixie fairy, but very protective and sweet and loving and just very loving, ” Southworth said. “I wanted to be everyone’s friend. Leave a huge hole in our hearts, that’s for sure.
The girl’s family said they were unsure if she had any underlying conditions, but TODAY noted that Makenzie was small for her age.
GoFundMe launched for Makenzie’s family to pay for funeral expenses raised nearly $ 70,000
The two aunts told the outlet that Makenzie’s body had been sent to a Dallas, Texas lab for examination and an autopsy was still underway.
The family have yet to receive confirmation that Makenzie has died from COVID-19. But Southworth told the San Antonio Express News his family strongly believed it was caused by the virus.
“We are awaiting the medical examiner’s report; but our family suspect it, however, because we don’t know of anything else that could have caused it, ”Southworth said.
“ COVID knows no age limit – my niece was 9, hadn’t even hit double digits yet. COVID IS horrible.
Makenzie attended Scarborough Elementary School in the Northside Independent School District, according to Express News.
The school district informed the families of its classmates of the death and made additional counselors available for students and staff mourning the loss.
“Our hearts are with his family during this very difficult time,” Scarborough directors said in a statement.
Kristle is an essential front-line medical worker and has 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 mourning while being quarantined, which will delay Makenzie’s funeral, media reported.
GoFundMe has since raised nearly $ 70,000 to pay for its funeral expenses. Makenzie’s body will be returned to San Antonio after the autopsy and she will be buried in Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery.
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