FORT WORTH, Texas (KTVT) – A Texas family mourns the loss of a 9-year-old boy to COVID-19 after making a bad turn and dying within 24 hours.
JJ Boatman, 9, died on Tuesday, Jan. 26, at Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth, Texas. His family says the boy was known for his hugs with a big bear.
“He was a loving, caring little boy. “Every time he sees you or a family member, he will pull you up and hug you,” said Gabriel Ayala, the boy’s uncle.
Just a few weeks before his death, JJ celebrates his 9th birthday with tacos and cake.
“We never knew it would be his last birthday,” Ayala said.
The 9-year-old had asthma, but Ayala says he was still very active and always played with his cousins or older sisters. The family says that JJ started running around and playing hours before his symptoms.
‘He had just run around and played earlier in the day, and by nightfall he was shouting at his mother and crying that he could not breathe. “His mother passed away and his face was already blue and his lips were blue,” Ayala said.
JJ’s mother rushed him to the emergency room and after that he was flown to Cook Children’s. Upon his arrival, his lungs were full of fluid. The 9-year-old’s heart was pounding the next morning.
Doctors told the family JJ died of complications related to COVID-19. Before he was admitted to the hospital, no one knew the 9-year-old had the virus.
She did not know she would come home empty-handed. It’s just hard, of course. It was her baby boy. It was her only son, “said Ayala of JJ’s mother.
Ayala says the story of JJ shows that anyone can get COVID-19, and he hopes people still take the threat seriously because his family is grieving the 9-year-old whose life has been cut short.
“We’re going to miss his whole life. “His life did not even begin,” said Ayala.
A GoFundMe set up for the family raised more than $ 20,000.
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