Mike, Erica, Kylie, and Mikayla DeCelle.Photo: GoFundMe
A Massachusetts community is rallying around a local family after all four members recently contractedCOVID-19.
LeMay said Mike, 39, and Mikayla — who turned 12 on Sunday — “have gotten it the worst,” while Kylie and Erica have experienced “tolerable” symptoms. Per Fox affiliateWFXT, Mike and Mikayla were not vaccinated, while Kylie, 14, and Erica were.
Recently, Mike and Mikayla’s conditions took a serious turn, as both were admitted to the ICU and later intubated due to breathing issues, LeMay noted in a message on the online fundraiser.
Mike, who runs a one-man tow company, is now unable to provide for the family, while Erica is currently pregnant, according to LeMay, who set up the GoFundMe page to assist the Salem-based family with any financial hardships they may experience.
“The DeCelles are the type of people who go out of their way for others in need, they would give the shirt off their back to help others,” she wrote. “Today they are on the other side of the fence, in need of your help.”
Speaking to WFXT, Kylie said her family all initially experienced only “mild symptoms.”
“We all tested positive…. and then like over the course of like two days, my dad and sister got really sick,” the teen told the outlet. “It got to the point where they weren’t eating or drinking or anything. So, they both had to go to the hospital.”
Once he arrived, doctors decided he needed to be transferred to the ICU at Mass General Hospital (MGH) “due to his oxygen levels being in the 70s,” LeMay explained.
Mike was then transported to MGH, where he was put on a high-pressure oxygen machine at 80 percent, according to LeMay.
“After 2 days of no improvement or stability, doctors made the tough decision to sedate and intubate Mike [on Friday],” she wrote.
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Then, “as if things weren’t bad enough,” Mikayla was transported to Salem Hospital on Thanksgiving “with breaking issues,” LeMay wrote on the GoFundMe. Afterwards, she was transferred to the pediatric ICU at MGH, where she was also put on a high-pressure oxygen machine.
In an update on Monday, LeMay revealed that Mikayla had also been having coughing fits so doctors had her intubated, as well.
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“It’s really scary,” Kylie told WFXT, noting that she has been quarantining with her aunt and her aunt’s fiancé, who also tested positive for the virus. “The only person I have from my household is my dog. And it’s just really hard.”
LeMay also noted that because Erica is pregnant, “she is enduring a lot of extra stress on herself with her husband and child in the ICU. Her anxiety is getting the best of her and terrified she is going to lose the love of her life to this.”
The teen is also urging people to get theCOVID vaccineso that their families don’t experience a similar situation.
“Please get vaccinated, because anyone can get COVID,” she told WFXT. “It’s not something out of the ordinary. And this can happen to anyone. It’s really tragic.”
Those interested in donating to the DeCelle family’s GoFundMe page can do sohere.
As information about thecoronavirus pandemicrapidly changes, PEOPLE is committed to providing the most recent data in our coverage. Some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest on COVID-19, readers are encouraged to use online resources fromCDC,WHO, andlocal public health departments.PEOPLE has partnered with GoFundMeto raise money for the COVID-19 Relief Fund, a GoFundMe.org fundraiser to support everything from frontline responders to families in need, as well as organizations helping communities. For more information or to donate, clickhere.
source: people.com
