10-Year-Old Texas Boy Passes Away from COVID-19 Complications

A 10-year-old boy in Houston, Texas, has passed away after a weeks-long battle with COVID-19 and other complications, including gangrene in his legs.

This week, aunt Ashley Engmann told KTRK-TV that her nephew Zyrin Foots died on Wednesday afternoon after his mother Amber made the difficult decision to remove him from life support.

“They gave my sister a choice: to amputate his legs and arms or let him go,” Engmann told the news channel. “Without the amputation, he doesn’t have any chance to live. With it, he has a 25 percent chance.”

Foots’ family believes the boy contracted COVID-19 while attending Huntsville Intermediate School.

After he was hospitalized September 30, Engmann says his body began to progressively shut down.

In addition to COVID-19, Engmann says her nephew was diagnosed with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and multisystem inflammatory syndrome, known as MIS-C when found in children, a condition where different body parts can become inflamed.

Per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), it has been found that “many children with MIS-C had the virus that causes COVID-19, or had been around someone with COVID-19.”

Engmann added, “Because his heart couldn’t pump blood, he developed gangrene in the legs.”

With regard to taking Foots off life support, Engmann said her sister chose the option “because that’s the most humane and compassionate thing she can do for her child.”

This week, prior to Zyrin’s passing, Engmann set up a GoFundMe page aimed at raising funds for his funeral.

In her message, Engmann reveals that Foots’ mom was in an accident eight years ago where she was hit by a truck when she was six months pregnant.

Sadly, Engmann says the incident made Amber lose her third son, Zekiah.

“She was in a coma for 4 months and took a couple of years to recover. Zyrin is her eldest son. Her second son, Zaiden is the only one left. I am reaching out because we have no way of paying for everything that is to come. My sister is permanently disabled and there isn’t any life insurance. If you find in it your heart to help us, I will forever be grateful. Thank you all and God bless.”

As of this writing, the page has raised over $27K — surpassing its $10K goal.