FORT WORTH, Texas (KTVT) – A Texas family mourns the loss of a 9-year-old boy to COVID-19 after he took a turn for the worse and died within 24 hours.
JJ Boatman, 9, died on Tuesday January 26 at Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth, Texas. His family says the boy was known for his big bear hugs.
‘He was a loving, caring little boy. Every time he saw you or another family member, he would run up to you and hug you, ”said Gabriel Ayala, the boy’s uncle.
Just a few weeks before his death, JJ celebrated his 9th birthday with tacos and cake.
“We never knew this would be his last birthday,” Ayala said.
The 9-year-old had asthma, but Ayala says he was still very active, always playing with his cousins or older sisters. In fact, the family says JJ was running around and playing for hours before his symptoms started.
He just ran around and played earlier that day, and by the evening he was screaming and crying at his mother that he couldn’t breathe. His mother walked up to him and his face was already blue and his lips were blue, ‘Ayala said.
JJ’s mother rushed him to the emergency room and he was then flown to Cook Children’s. By the time he arrived, his lungs were filled with fluid. The next morning, the 9-year-old’s heart gave out.
Doctors told the family that JJ died of complications related to COVID-19. Before he was hospitalized, no one knew the 9-year-old had the virus.
Little did she know she would come home empty-handed without her son. Of course it is just difficult. That was her son. That was her only son, ”said Ayala of JJ’s mother.
Ayala says JJ’s story shows anyone can get COVID-19, and he hopes people will continue to take the threat seriously as his family mourns the 9-year-old whose life was cut short.
‘We’re going to miss his whole life. His life hadn’t even started yet, ‘Ayala said.
A GoFundMe set up for the family has raised more than $ 20,000.
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