5-year-old girl with complications is first child to die of COVID-19 in Michigan
A 5-year-old daughter of a police officer and firefighter died after significant complications from the coronavirus.
Sunday, Skylar Herbert died at Beaumont Royal Oak Hospital after testing positive for the coronavirus in March. The virus developed a rare form of meningitis and swelling on the brain, according to WXYZ.
“To know her was to love her,” said Skylar’s mother.
“The loss of a child, at any time, under any circumstances, is a tragedy,” Beaumont Hospital said in a statement obtained by WXYZ.
According to the Michigan Health Department website, those who have died from Covid19 range from 5 to 107 years old.
Detroit continues to hit the Black community at an alarming rate. Scroll down for more.
Detroit Father Turned Away THREE Times, Now Family Blames Hospital For Death
A Detroit father died in his living room after being repeatedly turned away from Michigan hospitals, reports Detroit Free Press.
Gary Fowler, 56, went to the three hospitals in the Detroit metro area leading up to his death. His son, Keith Gambrell, said he begged for coronavirus testing and informed hospital personnel that he was having trouble breathing – and was turned away.
“My dad passed at home, and no one tried to help him,” Keith cried. “He asked for help, and they sent him away. They turned him away.”
Fowler died in his living room and was found by his wife, Cheryl Fowler, who had dozed off next to him just hours before.
“My little brother called me, screaming, ‘Daddy won’t wake up!’ “Keith remembered.
Keith said when he arrived at his father’s home, first responders were already there. He said his final words to his father and wept that the family could not have a proper funeral.
Keith also told Detroit Free Press that hospitals told his father that he most likely had a fever from bronchitis and sent him home. The hospital informed Fowler that he should act like he has the virus.
“I honestly think that’s why the death rate for blacks is so high,” said Keith. “It’s because we’re being pushed to the back and told to go home, but come back if you can make it before you die. That shouldn’t be the medical procedure for anything.”
This isn’t the first time a Black Detroit resident was denied testing and hospital care.
Detroit is one of the city’s hit hardest by the virus. Michigan Department of Health and Human Services reports that about 33 percent of the cases of Covid-19 are African-American. Studies show that in child-birth and beyond when Black communities bring concerns to doctors, they are rarely believed.
Hours before Fowler’s death in Michigan, Keith’s grandfather, David Fowler died from the coronavirus. David lived in the Boston Edison District, a predominately African-American area as well.
Keith told Detroit Free Press that the family thought David had a bad case of the flu. David was later rushed to the hospital and put on a ventilator after he passed out in his home’s bathroom.
He died on the same morning as his son, Gary. Read the full story here.