A Florida teenager who died of complications from the novel coronavirus had attended an large church party with 100 children not wearing masks or social distancing, a medical examiner’s report revealed.
Carsyn Davis, 17, of Fort Myers, had previous medical problems and her health quickly deteriorated when she contracted coronavirus in early June.
Her parents attempted to treat her with Trump-touted malaria drug hydroxychloroquine, despite warnings about its use as a treatment from the FDA, before eventually taking her to the hospital.
Her mother Carole Brunton Davis, a nurse, also administered antibiotics and oxygen via her grandfather’s portable machine.
The teen remained sick at home for a week before Brunton Davis and her father, a physician’s assistant, took her to be tested for coronavirus.
Carsyn Davis, 17, had attended a church party with 100 other children on June 10 with no social distancing and where nobody wore a mask. She died of coronavirus complications on June 23
Carsyn Davis had been treated by her mother Carole Brunton Davis, a nurse, at home with hydroxychloroquine. Trump has touted the drug but the FDA warn against it
According to a GoFundMe page, Davis was admitted to Golisano Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida, in Fort Myers, on June 19.
Two days later, on June 21 – which was her 17th birthday – the teenager was transferred to the ICU in critical condition.
Davis was placed on a ventilator but, the very next day, she was airlifted to another hospital for cardiac and respiratory support, the GoFundMe page says.
She was hooked up to an Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) machine, which pumps and oxygenates a patient’s blood outside the body, allowing the heart and lungs to rest.
On June 23, she died of complications from the virus.
Davis’ death sent shockwaves through the community as the second Florida teenager to die of coronavirus, which has killed more than 3,800 people in the state.
The teen had already battled off a host of health issues including cancer and a rare autoimmune disorder and was at high risk of serious illness if she contracted coronavirus.
Yet the release of the medical examiner’s report on her death has raised questions after it revealed that the immunocompromised teen went to a church party with 100 others with no restrictions in place and that she remained at home sick for a week before being taken to hospital.
Davis’ case was also highlighted by Rebekah Jones, the Florida data scientist who set up her own coronavirus dashboard for the state after being fired from the Florida Department of Health, where she helped create a data portal about COVID-19 cases.
Carsyn Davis, 17, of Fort Myers, Florida, was admitted to Golisano Children’s Hospital on June 19 and was placed in the ICU on June 21. Pictured: Davis (right) with her mother
The next day, Davis (left and right) was transferred to a different hospital for cardiac and respiratory support. On June 23, she died, making her the second teenager to die in the state
According to the report, on June 10 Davis attended a church function at First Youth Church with 100 other children.
The event was billed as a ‘release party’ on social media and promised ‘games, free food, a DJ and music’.
‘She did not wear a mask. Social distancing was not followed,’ the report said of Davis at the party.
First Youth Church have since taken down their Facebook page.
Her parents gave her azithromycin as a preventive measure from June 10 to 15, a drug President Trump has also claimed as a potential coronavirus treatment when used with hydroxychloroquine.
Yet the reports says that three days after the church party, Davis developed frontal headache, sinus pressure, and a mild cough which her family claimed were a sinus infection.
By June 19, Brunson Davis believed her daughter looked ‘gray’ while she was sleeping and borrowed her grandfather’s home oxygen before giving her a dose of hydroxychloroquine.
First Youth Church, who have since taken down their Facebook page, billed he event as a ‘release party’ and around 100 children attended on June 10
Carole Brunton Davis criticized the hospital for not giving her daughter hydroxychloroquine in a now deleted post which was shared by Florida data scientist Rebekah Jones
It remains unclear whether Davis had a prescription for hydroxychloroquine.
Several large-scale studies have found no benefit to the malaria drug as a coronavirus treatment, despite it being pushed by the president, which prompted the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to revoke its emergency use authorization.
Last week, the FDA renewed its warning that hydroxychloroquine should not be used to treat coronavirus outside of the hospital setting or a clinical trial due to the risk of heart rhythm problems.
That same day they took Davis to Gulf Coast Medical Center where she was transferred to Golisano Children’s Hospital and tested positive for coronavirus.
While there, her parents initially declined intubation and Davis was treated with plasma therapy.
She was eventually intubated on June 22 after her condition failed to improve.
While in the hospital her mother Brunton Davis again attempted to have medical staff treat her daughter with hydroxychloroquine but they refused as the FDA has revoked its approval.
‘This is very upsetting to me,’ Brunton Davis wrote in a Facebook post now deleted by shared by Jones, ‘as many of you know how I feel about that.
In another Facebook post, just a day before her daughter’s death, Brunton Davis shared a website called ‘Don’t Mask Our Kids’ which offered legal advice on how to fight against mandates requiring that masks be worn to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
Jones shared Davis’ story on her new Florida coronavirus site stating that she was ‘so saddened for this girl and the loss of life’.
‘I started looking into her mother, the church where the COVID party was held with more than 100 children, her health history, and who she was and I felt so angry and sad that this happened,’ she told Newsweek.
The high school student has been described as a ‘giving heart’ and a ‘blessing’ to those who met her.
‘While her time here ended far too soon, many can attest that she was beyond her 17 years of age,’ another GoFundMe page says.
‘Her kindness, giving heart, and sweet laughter has been a blessing to each person she has met.
‘Throughout her life, she has endured battles for her health with strength and grace. Her family is sound in that where she is now, she no longer has to fight and can live the heavenly life she has always deserved.’
Davis, who was a student at Cypress Lake High School, was a member of the school’s orchestra and the vocal department.
‘We are heartbroken for the loss of a young lady who brought so much light into the world,’ the orchestra said in a post on Facebook.
Florida has reported weekly increases in coronavirus deaths for at least two straight weeks compared to the previous seven days.
It is also among two dozen states reporting high infection rates as a percentage of diagnostic tests conducted over the past week – an alarming sign of a virus still spreading largely unchecked throughout much of the country.
Hospitalizations across Florida have also been ticking upward, with nearly 1,700 patients admitted in the past seven days compared with 1,200 the previous week.
Five hospitals in the St. Petersburg area were out of intensive care unit beds, officials said. Miami’s Baptist Hospital had only four of its 88 ICU beds available.
On Monday, Florida’s greater Miami area became the latest hot spot to roll back its reopening with Mayor Carlos Gimenez ordering restaurant dining to close.
As of Tuesday morning, there were 213,794 coronavirus deaths in Florida and the death toll stood at 3,8412.