Florida
Teen who died from COVID-19 attended a huge church party
Carsyn Leigh Davis' family noted that she was “a devout Christian and follower of Jesus,” and “actively involved in Youth Church at First Assembly of God in Ft. Myers.”
On June 10, Carsyn was one of dozens of young people who attended the church event mentioned in the report. Florida data scientist Rebekah Jones shared images of a June 10 post from the First Youth Church’s Facebook page advertising an event scheduled for that night called a “Release Party.” The church’s page has since been taken down.
“Service is back and better than ever!” the post said. “There will be games, awesome giveaways, free food, a DJ and music, and the start of our new sermon series.”
The medical examiner wrote that Carsyn’s parents gave her azithromycin as a preventive measure from June 10 to June 15. The antibiotic in combination with hydroxychloroquine has been floated by Trump as a potential coronavirus treatment. According to the report, Carsyn's mother is a nurse and a man identified as Carsyn’s father is a physician assistant.
But while she was taking the medicine, Carsyn began feeling ill, developing a headache, sinus pressure and a mild cough, the report said. Then, on June 19, her mother noticed that Carsyn “looked ‘gray'” as she slept, prompting the mother to hook her daughter up to oxygen normally used by Carsyn’s grandfather, who has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD.
At some point, Carsyn was also given a dose of hydroxychloroquine by her parents — an action that came less than a week after the FDA pulled its emergency use authorization for that drug and chloroquine, another anti-malarial medication. A letter dated June 15 stated that the drugs “were unlikely to be effective” for covid-19 and that any potential benefits were outweighed by safety risks, including heart problems.
It remains unclear whether Carsyn had a prescription for hydroxychloroquine.
Not long after the oxygen and hydroxychloroquine were administered, Carsyn’s parents took her to a local medical center. She was later transferred to the pediatric intensive care unit at a nearby children’s hospital, where she was confirmed to have the coronavirus.
Carsyn’s parents declined to have her intubated, and she instead started receiving plasma therapy, the report said. But by June 22, her condition wasn’t improving and “intubation was required,” the medical examiner wrote.
Despite “aggressive therapy and maneuvers,” Carsyn still didn’t get better, leading Brunton Davis to request “heroic efforts” even knowing that her daughter “had low chance of meaningful survival,” according to the report.
But none of the procedures worked and Carsyn continued to deteriorate. She died shortly after 1 p.m. on June 23, two days after her 17th birthday.
