Friday 24 September 2021

'Mama, I don't want to die': 20-year-old daycare teacher's haunting final words to her mom before she was intubated and died of COVID

 An Idaho mother says the last thing her 20-year-old daughter told her before she was intubated and placed into a medically induced coma while being treated for COVID-19 was, 'Mama, I don't want to die.'

Summer Carr told the station KTVB that she assured her daughter, Cleo Shepherd, that she was going to survive. On Monday, the young woman suffered organ failure and died without ever regaining consciousness.  

Shepherd lived in Ontario, Oregon, and worked as a daycare teacher when she contracted COVID two weeks ago, ultimately resulting in her hospitalization.

Her mother has declined to reveal her daughter's vaccination status, saying she was not uncomfortable with discussing it.


Cleo Shepherd, 20, lived in Ontario, Oregon, and worked as a daycare teacher when she contracted COVID two weeks ago
She died of complications associated with the virus at a Boise, Idaho, hospital on September 20

Cleo Shepherd, 20 (left), lived in Ontario, Oregon, and worked as a daycare teacher when she contracted COVID two weeks ago. She died of complications associated with the virus at a Boise, Idaho, hospital on September 20 (pictured in her hospital bed, right)

Shepherd succumbed to heart failure at Saint Alphonsus Hospital, where she had been transferred for treatment from Oregon

Shepherd succumbed to heart failure at Saint Alphonsus Hospital, where she had been transferred for treatment from Oregon 

Shepherd was initially hospitalized in Oregon before being transferred to Saint Alphonsus in Boise, Idaho.

Shepherd's mother said that medical staff treated her daughter well and did everything in their power to save her. 

'She was 20 years old and full of life,' Carr said while surrounded by her surviving children. 'This should not have to happen.'

According to data released earlier this week, Idaho is among the worst states in the nation for the rate of new COVID cases. 

Nearly all of the new COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths have been among unvaccinated residents, Gov Brad Little's office said in a news release.  

In the course of her treatment, Shepherd developed pneumonia, which led to kidney failure last week.


Summer Carr (2nd L) said the last thing her daughter told her before she was intubated was: 'Mama, I don't want to die'

Summer Carr (2nd L) said the last thing her daughter told her before she was intubated was: 'Mama, I don't want to die' 

It is unclear whether Shepherd had been vaccinated before contracting COVID
She battled the virus at home for a week before being hospitalized

It is unclear whether Shepherd had been vaccinated before contracting COVID. She battled the virus at home for a week before being hospitalized 

'They had to intubate her, and right before they intubated her, the last thing she said to me was, "Mama, I don't want to die,"' Carr said. 'And I promised her she was going to be fine. And that was the last conversation I ever had with her.'

Just after 6pm on Monday, Shepherd was pronounced dead from heart failure. 

Carr tearfully described her daughter as 'the kindest soul' who loved children.

The family have launched a GoFundMe campaign to help pay for the 20-year-old's funeral. 

'This was totally unexpected and we’ve never had to ask for help before, but we need it now more than ever,' Carr wrote in the fundraiser's description.  

During a weekly briefing on Tuesday - a day after Shepherd's death - Idaho's public health leaders painted a grim picture: angry and exhausted hospital workers; unused vaccines expiring, and climbing COVID deaths.

Idaho continues to set record highs with 686 hospitalized COVID-19 patients as of September 18, 180 of them in intensive care unit beds and 112 on ventilators, Idaho Department of Health and Welfare Dave Jeppesen said.

Idaho’s vaccination rates remain among the lowest in the nation, with about 51 per cent of all eligible residents fully vaccinated against coronavirus, according to numbers from the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare.

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