9-year-old second child to die from COVID in 24 hours at Cook Children’s in Fort Worth
A second child younger than 10 has died from coronavirus-related complications at Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth in the past 24 hours.
J.J. Boatman, of Vernon, was flown by helicopter to Fort Worth after he developed severe breathing problems late Monday.
Boatman, who turned 9 several weeks ago, was asthmatic. The death of a Fort Worth boy less than 1 from COVID complications was confirmed by Cook Children’s on Tuesday.
Boatman’s uncle Gabriel Ayala said the boy was active and healthy earlier on Monday.
“He was just running around and playing earlier that day, and by the nighttime he was yelling and crying to his mom that he couldn’t breathe,” Ayala told KTVT Channel 11 . “His mom went over, and his face was blue already and his lips were blue.”
Boatman’s lungs were filled with liquid and his brain had swollen from lack of oxygen when he arrived at Cook Children’s, according to a GoFundMe account set up to help with funeral expenses. He was placed on a ventilator and fought for more than 12 hours.
Boatman’s father and one of his two older sisters tested positive for COVID-19 in December but had recently tested negative, according to a family member. The family’s assumption is Boatman contracted the virus at school.
“He was a loving, caring little boy,” Ayala said. “Every time he would see you or any family member, he’d run up and hug you. We’re going to miss his whole life. He’s going to miss his whole life. His life hadn’t even started.”
The family is close to reaching its GoFundMe goal of $10,000. As of early Wednesday afternoon it had raised more than $9,500 from 170 donors.
This story was originally published January 27, 2021 at 1:08 PM.
