Two first responders in Michigan are facing heartbreak after their 5-year-old daughter died from the coronavirus. According to The Detroit News, Skylar Herbert complained about a headache a month ago. After testing positive for the coronavirus, the Detroit girl suffered from brain swelling and a rare form of meningitis. She died at Beaumont Hospital on Sunday after spending two weeks on a ventilator.

“We decided to take her off the ventilator today because her improvement had stopped. The doctors told us that it was possible she was brain dead, and we basically just knew she wasn’t coming back to us,” LaVondria Herbert, Skylar's mother, told The Detroit News.

LaVondria works as a police officer in Detroit. Skylar's father, Ebbie, is a firefighter. According to The Detroit News, the couple does not know how their daughter contracted the virus. 

The girl didn't have any prior health concerns, and she had been staying in the house for weeks, The Detroit News reported. Ebbie had symptoms of the coronavirus, but he didn't test positive. However, the family lives in a zip code where 559 cases have been reported. 

“She was the type of girl that would just run up to you and jump in your arms and hug you," LaVondria told the newspaper. "It didn’t matter what she was doing, she would stop what she was doing and tell me she loved me like 20 times a day."

According to The Detroit Free Press, Skylar is now the youngest person in Michigan to die from the coronavirus. The youngest victim previously was 20 years old. 

"The loss of a child, at any time, under any circumstances, is a tragedy," Beaumont Hospital said in a statement. "We are heartbroken that COVID-19 has taken the life of a child. We extend our deepest sympathy to Skylar’s family and all others who have lost a loved one to this virus."

When the couple brought their daughter to the pediatrician on March 23 because of her headache, she tested positive for strep throat. The doctor sent the girl home after giving her antibiotics.

"She had been crying all night and saying the headache would not go away," LaVondria said. "We called the doctor back, and they told us that it takes the medication 48 hours to kick in and to give it some time, but because she was crying so bad, I told my husband we needed to take her to emergency because I just didn’t know."

Skylar was tested for COVID-19 after being taken to Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak. Her results came back positive the next day. She was released a day later, but her condition didn't improve. The family returned to the emergency room that same day to get treatment for Ebbie. 

"We went back to emergency at the Beaumont Hospital’s Farmington campus because I noticed my husband was coughing and having shortness of breath," LaVondria told The Detroit News. "Me and Skylar waited in the car, but out of nowhere, Skylar began complaining about her head hurting again and then she just threw up."

LaVondria wrapped her daughter in a blanket as she started shivering with her temperature reaching around 100 degrees. The little girl's condition worsened when she experienced a seizure. 

Ebbie tried to calm his daughter after he came back from the emergency room.

"[I told her] 'Skylar, look at your daddy, Skylar, look at your daddy,'" he said. "She came out of the seizure and me and her mother ran back into the emergency room."

Skylar was admitted to the pediatric ICU, where the family learned that she has meningitis. 

"I would whisper in her ear and say, 'Skylar, hold your leg up. Just think about it really hard and hold your leg up.' And with my assistance, she did," LaVondria said.

The 5-year-old closed her eyes soon after that and never opened them again. 

As of Sunday, 31,424 coronavirus cases have been reported in Michigan and 2,391 deaths have been recorded, The Detroit News reported. The coronavirus has especially impacted Black residents in Michigan, who make up 40% of the fatalities reported. 

Skylar's parents have been working in two of the most impacted departments. According to The Detroit News, 345 Detroit Police Department employees are currently under quarantine. At the fire department, 52 members had the coronavirus, while 130 are now quarantined. 

HBCUs are facing many challenges managing coronavirus responses and need your support. Donate to the UNCF fund today to help students impacted by the pandemic.