‘Just ate her through.’ Healthy teen dies days after COVID diagnosis, Illinois mom says

A healthy Illinois teen died of COVID-19 days after she was diagnosed, her family says.

Sarah Simental, an 18-year-old from Tinley Park, died of the coronavirus the day after Christmas, according to Cook County officials.

“It literally just ate her through, and no parent should have to watch their child go through that,” her mother Deborah Simental told WLS.

Simental says her daughter first experienced symptoms last Wednesday and tested positive for the virus, WLS reported. The illness quickly overtook the high school senior’s body.

Sarah died Sunday of acute hypoxic respiratory failure and non-traumatic cerebral hemorrhages from the infection, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office.

Her mother says Simental was hospitalized and later flown to the University of Chicago for treatment, the Chicago Tribune reported.

“Sarah is an example that it can happen to the youngest and healthiest people,” Simental’s mother told the newspaper. “This is real.”

Sarah’s funeral is Wednesday, according to an obituary. Her family is asking for donations to a local animal shelter.

Her mother told WLS the family was at her bedside when Sarah died.

“She said I’m going to be OK and that was the last thing,” she told WLS. “So I know that she knows eventually we’ll all be OK. We’re going to miss her but we’ll be OK.”

This story was originally published December 29, 2020 at 5:32 PM with the headline "‘Just ate her through.’ Healthy teen dies days after COVID diagnosis, Illinois mom says."