A Florida mother lost both her son and her daughter within days due to COVID-19.
Monete Hicks, 48, lost her 20-year-old son to the dangerous disease. Less than two weeks later, her 22-year-old daughter also died of the virus, NBC News reports. The devastated mother shared with NBC 6:
“I hold up pretty much well at the daytime, but at night, it really hits me. I’m so used to them being in here.”
Both Ms. Hicks’ son and daughter, Byron and Mychaela, had underlying health conditions while struggling with coronavirus. The contributing causes of the 20-year-old boy’s death were morbid obesity and asthma. His sister’s contributing causes were obesity, asthma, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Although Monete’s children were suffering from other conditions, a spokesperson from the Broward County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed the primary cause of their deaths was COVID-19.
On June 27, Byron had trouble breathing, his mother shared. Ms. Hicks explained:
“I came and checked on him. He was in the living room on the floor sitting up. He was sleeping, but he was breathing very poorly.”
Only a week later, while the family was grieving Byron’s death, his sister was admitted to the hospital with severe headaches and fever. Her condition aggravated withing the next days. According to her mother, ‘everything just went to breaking down in her body’. At first, Monete’s daughter needed oxygen. Then, her blood pressure fell, and she eventually lost a kidney.
The 22-year-old lost the battle with COVID-19 on July 8, only 11 days after her brother died of the same virus.
Monete shares planning her children’s funerals is extremely hard.
Absolutely crushing. Two siblings gone, days apart, from the virus. @nbc6 https://t.co/79xjqjJ9Pi
— Sheli Muñiz (@SheliNBC6) July 12, 2020
Thankfully, Ms. Hicks has four other children who would help her move on from this tragic loss. She is now urging people to take serious measures to protect themselves and the ones around them from the deadly disease.
“Wear y’all masks. Be careful, be safe out there, take it seriously.”
In an official statement from July 17, Broward County said coronavirus cases were rapidly increasing, with more than 1,300 new ones every day over the previous week. The statement reads:
“It is important for residents and businesses to understand the role they play in reducing these alarming statistics, by following reopening guidelines and requirements for social distancing and wearing facial coverings.”
As of July 22, the county had 42,577 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 577 deaths. In Florida, the confirmed cases are 369,834, with 5,207 fatalities.
