Coronavirus claims life of 28-year-old doctor, family says
The doctor first fell ill in July
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The coronavirus has claimed the life of a young doctor, her family said.
Dr. Adeline Fagan, originally from Lafayette, N.Y., near Syracuse, who was working on her second year of residency as an OB-GYN in Houston, Texas, died on Saturday, according to a GoFundMe created in her name. The 28-year-old had battled the novel virus for two months prior to her death, according to multiple reports.
Fagan first fell ill in July after she was placed on a rotation treating coronavirus patients in the emergency room, Syracuse.com reported.
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The morning of July 8, “she went into work feeling well and excited to see patients, but by the evening she began to feel under the weather. What started as intense flu-like symptoms escalated within the week to a hospital stay,” her family wrote on GoFundMe.
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The doctor spent the next few weeks battling the disease and was treated with “several different respiratory therapies and put on dozens of drugs.”
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None of these treatments proved effective, leading the doctors treating her to try an “experimental drug trial,” the post from the family reads.
“However, before we could see if this new drug was effective, her lungs could no longer support her,” they wrote, noting she was intubated and placed on a ventilator on Aug. 3. Her condition failed to improve and doctors then placed Fagan on an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation machine (ECMO), also known as extracorporeal life support.
Over the past few days, Fagan was reportedly “doing wonderfully,” per the GoFundMe, but the tables turned over the weekend when doctors called the family to inform them she had suffered from a “massive brain bleed” that required surgery immediately.
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“They immediately rushed her for a CT scan which showed the extent of the damage. The neurosurgeon said it was a ‘1 in a million’ chance she would even survive the procedure, but that Adeline would have several severe cognitive and sensory limitations if she did survive. Of that the doctor was sure. Everyone was crushed by the events, the nurses, the doctors, and, of course, us,” the post reads.
“We spent the remaining minutes hugging, comforting, and talking to Adeline. And then the world stopped…,” they wrote.
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“The time the world stopped for a moment and will never be the same. Our beautiful daughter, sister, friend, physician, Adeline Marie Fagan, MD passed away,” reads a follow-up post on the GoFundMe page penned by her father, Brant Fagan.
“We want to sincerely thank all who supported Adeline and us through this difficult time. You were all there cheering and praying and crying. The number of well wishes and caring people humbles us. Even in this darkest of times, there are good people willing to share a piece of themselves for the sake of another,” he continued.
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“If you can do one thing, be an ‘Adeline’ in the world. Be passionate about helping others less fortunate, have a smile on your face, a laugh in your heart, and a Disney tune on your lips,” he wrote. “We love you, Adeline, with all our hearts.”