A 24-year-old woman who visited a friend in Atlanta for a birthday party passed away Tuesday after a battle with COVID-19.
FOX5 sat down with Carla Polk Rubin, mother of Lameshia Polk, who at the time was in hospice care. The mother told the interviewer that at the time of the interview, her daughter only had hours left to live.
"She's not going to be with me anymore. She's dying, as we talk, as we do this interview," Polk Rubin said.
Lameshia Polk took a vacation June 12 from Memphis to celebrate a friend's birthday. She began to feel sick as soon as she got to Atlanta and checked herself into the emergency room at Emory University Atlanta where she tested positive for COVID-19.
"They moved her to the COVID unit. I was Facetiming her the whole time. She was still using the bathroom, she was still throwing up but she was still able to talk to me," Polk Rubin said.
A day later, her mother got a call from Polk as she drove to Atlanta. "Her eyes were sunk back in her head. And she said 'Mom, I want to come home.' I said 'what's wrong with your eyes?' I said 'I got your little Goddaughter back here' and the phone hung up." her mother said.
The next call she received was from the doctor, saying Lameshia's heart stopped beating for four minutes. She went into surgery but never woke back up.
Monday marked day five of hospice care.
In a matter of 25 days, a healthy 24-year-old suffered heart failure, brain damage, blood clots, and failing organs.
Lameshia's mother warns that her daughter's death should be a reminder of how dangerous the virus can be. "I say to anybody, please, please, please wear your mask. please stay out of gatherings, please wash your hands. Use hand sanitizer. Don't go out. Don't go out unless you have to."
Lameshia had just started a new job as a medical assistant and her health insurance had not kicked in when she started getting sick.
The family has set up a GoFundMe page to help with hospital bills and transporting Lameshia back to Memphis.
Source: FOX5