CINCINNATI — An elementary school girl in Ohio died the same day she was told she had the flu and strep throat, her school and family says.
Sable Gibson, a fourth-grader at Mason City Schools, was diagnosed with strep throat and influenza on Tuesday morning, her school and family wrote. She suffered cardiac arrest Tuesday afternoon.
“She was airlifted to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital but it was too late,” a GoFundMe account to benefit the family reads.
“Our hearts are completely broken. … We can’t imagine our lives without our baby girl.”
Sable’s school district sent a letter, obtained by WXIX-TV, to parents saying the girl was “a great friend with a big heart who loved the color pink.” The district encouraged community members to wear pink on Thursday.
In a statement on its Facebook page, the school wrote that additional counselors were available at Western Row Elementary.
“It’s moments like these that we come together as a community to walk alongside one another and care for each other,” the district wrote.
A Facebook account created on behalf of the family also provides options for providing support, including a meal train and contributing to funeral expenses.
Sable’s funeral is set for Saturday.
If you’re worried about flu symptoms, “it’s best to be seen and be seen early,” Angela Campbell, physician and media officer in the influenza division at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told USA TODAY during last year’s flu season. Children younger than 5, senior citizens and pregnant women are among the most at risk for serious flu-related complications, the CDC says.