A fourth-grader from Texas died in her sleep three days after testing positive for COVID-19, despite experiencing only mild symptoms.
Makenzie Gongora (9) was kept in bed by her mother Kristle in the early morning hours of February 2 and never woke up, her family told TODAY.
Makenzie tested positive for COVID on January 29 after suffering a severe headache with vomiting at her after-school program.
Staff at the after-school program took Makenzie’s temperature and found that she had a fever and that she had been taken to Brooke Army Medical Center by her mother.
Makenzie was tested for sore throat and flu by doctors, but the tests were negative. She 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, and Kristle, right
Makenzie’s family said they were not aware of any underlying medical conditions before her death
The family ordered an autopsy to determine her cause of death, which they said was caused by COVID-19
Doctors told Kristle Gongora to take her daughter home to “make her comfortable” and “monitor her fever”, said Victoria Southworth, Makenzie’s aunt.
“Kenzie had no breathing problems,” Southworth, 37, said.
“There was nothing important going on. All the symptoms were mild. ‘
Makenzie’s aunts wrote in a GoFundMe that the young girl seems to be recovering over the weekend with waves of symptoms coming and going. ‘
But Makenzie starts to feel tired and goes to bed early on February 1st.
“My sister-in-law checked on her later that night and realized she could no longer breathe and could not find a pulse,” her 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, tiny, like a little pixie fairy, but very protective and sweet and loving and just very loving,” Southworth said. “Wanted to be everyone’s friend. Leave a big hole in our hearts, that’s for sure. ‘
The girl’s family said they did not know if she had underlying conditions, but noticed TODAY that Makenzie was small for her age.
A GoFundMe start for Makenzie’s family to pay for her funeral expenses raised nearly $ 70,000
Both aunts told the point of sale that Makenzie’s body had been sent to a laboratory in Dallas, Texas, to be examined and that an autopsy was still pending.
The family has not yet received confirmation that Makenzie died of COVID-19. But Southworth told the San Antonio Express News that her family believes it was caused by the virus.
‘We are awaiting the report of the medical examiner; but our family suspects it, because we do not know of anything else that could have caused it, ‘Southworth said.
‘COVID knows no age limit – my niece was 9 and has not even achieved double digits. COVID IS AWFUL. ‘
According to Express News, Makenzie attended the Scarborough Elementary in the Northside Independent School District.
The school district notified the families of her classmates of the death and that additional counselors were available for students and staff mourning her loss.
“We are thinking of her family during this very difficult time,” Scarborough administrators said in a statement.
Kristle is an essential worker in the medical field and has been vaccinated because she works with vulnerable patients.
Nathan Gongora, Makenzie’s father, is in the army’s national guard and has also tested positive for the virus along with the couple’s other daughter, Sophia.
The family is currently mourning while in quarantine, which will delay Makenzie’s funeral.
The GoFundMe has since raised nearly $ 70,000 to pay for her funeral expenses. Makenzie’s body will be returned to San Antonio after the autopsy and she will be buried at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery.