Florida mom loses son, 20, to coronavirus, and then days later, her daughter

[Mike 03]

NBC News
July 21, 2020, 1:22 PM EDT
By Janelle Griffith

"I hold up pretty much well at the daytime, but at night, it really hits me," Monete Hicks said of the deaths of her children, Byron, 20, and Mychaela, 22, to COVID-19.

A mother in Florida lost her 20-year-old son to COVID-19, and then 11 days later, her 22-year-old daughter also died from the disease.

"I hold up pretty much well at the daytime, but at night, it really hits me," Monete Hicks, of Lauderdale Lakes, told NBC Miami. "I'm so used to them being in here."

Planning their two funerals is difficult, she said.

Hicks did not immediately respond to a request for an interview Tuesday.

She told the Miami station that her son and daughter both had underlying health conditions.

An official with the Broward County Medical Examiner's Office confirmed to NBC News on Tuesday that the primary cause of death for Hicks' son, Byron, and daughter, Mychaela Francis, was COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna1234464

I can't even imagine this woman's suffering.

[Sherman A1]

1. Sad

[onecaliberal]

2. 💔😢🤬

[RANDYWILDMAN]

3. so sad

This disease does not care how old you are.

[lpbk2713]

4. Too much for anyone to have to go through.

And Trump is to blame.

[Nevilledog]

5. ...

[Hortensis]

6. So dreadfully tragic. Both had asthma and one COPD.

We lost a very sweet young friend at 29 from asthma; she died of asphyxiation one night while her mother and sister were asleep. Like these poor girls, she was also obese. Research has been under way for some time, but we desperately need ways to stop it in childhood, and before, before it begins.

And of course the dreadful epidemic of asthma. Attacks on the Clean Air Act and refusal to take further action certainly haven't helped that. Or refusal of responsible land use regulation. I just learned the newly married son of people we know bought a home in an entry-level subdivision that should never have been built right next to a freeway and all its emissions, heavy metals, etc. They intend to start a family there. (!)

[TeamPooka]

7. More blood on the hands of Trump and DeSantis

[BigDemVoter]

8. Good God.

I thought I had seen the worst it could do. This is horrendous, shocking and heart breaking.

[bronxiteforever]

9. Absolutely heartbreaking.

[wendyb-NC]

10. Such sad report.

This virus so unpredictable, you just don't know how it will manifest if you get it. I can't imagine the pain, she must feel.