Kimora “Kimmie” Lynum, a 9-year-old from Florida, has been identified by her family after health officials reported her as the youngest person in the state to die from the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).
Kimora “Kimmie” Lynum passed away from coronavirus complications after taking a nap on July 17, her mother Mikasha Young-Holmes told local news station WCJB.
On July 11, the young girl began to feel ill and was brought to a local hospital days later. And despite her temperature being at 103 degrees, Kimmie was diagnosed with a urinary tract infection and sent home, according to the mom.
“We took her to the hospital, the children’s pediatric,” Young-Holmes recalled, revealing to the outlet how Kimmie was not tested for coronavirus while they were at the hospital. “I thought they would have jumped on that when they saw her fever.”
Just days after returning home, Young-Holmes said Kimmie asked to take a nap one afternoon and never woke up.
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“I was shaking her, yelling at her,” she recalled. “I was just trying to bring her back. I tried, I tried everything I could to bring her back.”
Young-Holmes revealed how her daughter was tested for COVID-19 after she was pronounced dead.
“After she had passed away, they tested her, and that’s when they told me she was positive for COVID,” she said, revealing to WCJB that she has no idea where her daughter contracted the virus. “At this point, I have no idea. I’m just still pretty much stuck in the now.”
According to her cousin Dejeon Cain, Kimmie did not have any preexisting health issues that would make her more susceptible to coronavirus, who shared the information with NBC affiliate First Coast News.
The outlet also reported that Kimmie’s illness was not travel-related and she did not have contact with a person known to have COVID-19, according to a report of coronavirus fatalities by the Florida Department of Health.
“She was doing good at one point, and all of a sudden she had a situation with a fever,” Cain said. “It hit home, and I think a lot of people out here are not understanding that we have to take this thing seriously.”
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Kimmie is the fifth minor to die from coronavirus in Florida, according to health records. Prior to her death, the youngest fatalities were an 11-year-old boy in Miami-Dade County and an 11-year-old girl in Broward County.
Recently, a GoFundMe campaign was created to help raise funds for Kimmie’s medical bills and funeral expenses.
“Kimora, more affectionately known as ‘Kimmie’ was a jovial, fun-loving, and free-spirited 9-year-old child,” a description for the fundraiser read. “She enjoyed the very simple things in life such as going to the park and making new friends. She was highly sociable, inquisitive and always happy.”