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Houston, TX (KTVT) — A Texas family is mourning the loss of their 17-year-old daughter, who had COVID-19.
Kevin Swearingen from Lumberton, near Beaumont, shared the heartbreaking news on Facebook that his daughter Charlee had passed away.
“Dear Heavenly Father (I) come to you to ask you to take good care of my Charlee Choo! Make sure that she has no more struggles. Make sure that she can walk and she can talk. I come to you and ask that you give her a mansion in the sky as you have promised,” he wrote. “Me and my wife and others have took good care of her here on earth and now we turn Charlee over to you. I know that she’s in great hands.”
Charlee was on life support at Texas Children’s ICU.
Swearingen told KTRK-TV in Houston, Charlee was diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder called Rett Syndrome.
He said when the pandemic hit, he worried Charlee would be at-risk.
He said the family took precautions.
Weeks before Swearingen first shared their story, Charlee’s oxygen levels suddenly dropped and she was taken to an emergency room and released.
The same week, she went to Texas Children’s Hospital after a series of seizures.
Swearingen said they have received an outpouring of support from the community, after sharing Charlee’s story and their family’s push to allow both parents to visit their daughter while in the hospital.
The family set up a fundraiser on Facebook to help with medical expenses.
Lumberton is about 100 miles northeast of Houston.
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