The family of a 17-year-old Lee County girl who died last month from COVID-19 treated her symptoms at home for nearly a week before taking her to a hospital, a coroner’s report concludes.
Home care included giving the girl unproven medications and putting her in an oxygen tank used by her grandfather.
Carsyn Leigh Davis died on June 23 as the youngest victim of the new Lee County coronavirus. Almost two weeks before her death, she had attended a 100-person church function and, according to the Miami-Dade medical examiner’s office, “was not wearing a mask. Social distancing was not followed.”
News-Press was unable to independently verify which church was involved and a call was not returned Monday to the event’s possible host. A journalist also tried to contact the girl’s mother without success on Monday.
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The girl had struggled with a number of health problems over the years, including a rare nervous system disorder that resolved when she was 5, obesity and an autoimmune disorder, according to the report.
Her mother, a nurse, and a man identified in the report as her father, a medical assistant, gave the girl azithromycin, an antibiotic that is being studied as a possible treatment with COVID-19, as a protective measure, according to the report. .
But on June 13, the girl developed a frontal headache, sinus pressure, and a mild cough. The family assumed they were the result of a sinus infection, according to the report.
On June 19, the girl’s mother noticed that she looked “gray” while sleeping. The girl was then given an unspecified dose of hydroxychloroquine, an arthritis and lupus medication that some, including President Donald J. Trump, have touted as a possible treatment for COVID-19.
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The report does not indicate whether the girl had a prescription for any of the medications.
Either way, there is little evidence that hydroxychloroquine is an effective treatment for COVID-19. The Food and Drug Administration has warned people not to use the drug outside of supervised hospital settings because of its potential to cause heart, liver and kidney problems.
Her parents then used the oxygen used by her grandfather, who has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, before taking her to the Gulf Coast Medical Center in southern Fort Myers.
Authorities transferred Davis to the Golisano Children’s Hospital, which confirmed that he had COVID-19. The girl’s family refused to allow her to intubate, opting for plasma treatment, according to the report. That didn’t work, and the girl was later intubated.
She was later transferred to Nicklaus Children’s Hospital in Miami.
A GoFundMe account created in Davis’ name had received nearly $ 8,400 in donations as of Monday.
In it, his mother, Carole Brunton Davis, said: “We are very sad about her death at this young age, but we are comforted to know that she is in no pain. Heaven won an angel. Carsyn did not have an easy life.”
– Reporter Melanie Payne contributed to this story.
Frank Gluck is a surveillance reporter for The News-Press and Naples Daily News. Connect with him at [email protected] or on Twitter: @FrankGluck
