A 48-year-old mother, Monete Hicks, from Florida lost her 20-year-old son, Byron, to coronavirus, and then she lost her 22-year-old daughter, Mychaela Francis, to the same disease after 11 days.
Hicks told NBC 6 of South Florida, “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,” adding it is difficult for her to plan two funerals.
The mother told the South Florida station that both Byron and Mychaela had underlying medical conditions.
On Tuesday, the Broward County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed to NBC News that the primary cause of death for Byron and Mychaela was COVID-19, the infection caused by the new coronavirus.
According to the office, morbid obesity and asthma were the contributing causes of Byron’s death, while in the case of Mychaela, obesity, asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) were the contributing causes.
Hicks said Byron had shortness of breath on June 27. “I came and checked on him,” she said. “He was in the living room on the floor sitting up. He was sleeping, but he was breathing very poorly.” She called 911, and Byron was rushed to a hospital where he later died.
And then a week later, when the family was grieving Byron’s death, Mychaela was taken to a hospital after she started complaining of having headaches and a fever, according to Hicks.
Mychaela needed oxygen, her blood pressure fell, and she eventually lost a kidney,” Hicks said. Mychaela died on July 8.
Hicks, who now has four other children, said she believed Mychaela would recover because she was a fighter, just like Byron.
Hicks is now suggesting people to start taking precautionary measures to keep themselves safe. She said, “Wear y’all masks. Be careful, be safe out there, take it seriously.”
On July 17, Broward County officials said the number of new coronavirus cases was continuing to climb, with more than 1,300 new cases reported each day. The officials said, “Our hospitals are either at or are exceeding their bed capacity.” The Florida Health Department said the county had more than 42,120 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 517 deaths, as of Tuesday.
