A 13-year-old Georgia girl who went to the ER with a headache died less than 12 hours later from undiagnosed leukemia.
Julia Chavez studied at Columbia County’s Harlem Middle School. According to the Augusta Chronicle, she developed an ear infection and headache over the weekend and was prescribed medicines at local urgent care.
The teen fell on Sunday and was taken to an Augusta hospital, where CT scans and blood tests showed she had leukemia.
“She had bleeding in her brain, lungs, stomach… everywhere,” her father, Dennis Lee Chavez, wrote on social media. “That’s where we found out she had leukemia. It came on so hard and so fast. Doctors told us there was no way we could have known.”
Chavez died at 1:35 a.m. Monday, only hours after being admitted to the hospital. According to family members, the only symptom she had was occasional bruising, which they chalked up to her being a tomboy.
Caroline Pinkston, her 5th-period teacher, stated that her classroom is not the same.
“Julia was the kindest, most big-hearted child I think I’ve ever met; even her speaking voice was sweet. She would talk to anyone and make them feel friended,” Pinkston wrote.
Julia will be buried at Grovetown on Friday.
To help with funeral and hospital expenses, the family has set up Venmo and CashApp accounts.