A college senior who hoped to become a pediatrician has passed away from coronavirus.
Helen Etuk was majoring in Kinesiology at the University of North Texas when she contracted COVID, reported the New York Times.
The 20-year-old had recently returned to in-person classes at the school and was vigilant about wearing a mask and maintaining distance from her peers, her mother, Ellen Clinton, told the outlet.
Etuk had lupus, a chronic disease of the immune system, and developed a bad cough that turned out to be a symptom of COVID-19.
"She blamed herself, saying she made a mistake in going back to school,” Clinton said. “She said that sometimes students pull their masks down, so they cover their mouths but not their noses.”
Her condition worsened and Etuk spent three months in the hospital before succumbing to the virus on January 12th. Her death came a month shy of her 21st birthday.
The family set up a GoFundMe campaign to help pay for funeral costs and noted how Etuz longed to become a pediatrician because she “loved children and wanted a career that was based on helping and being surrounded by infants and toddlers.”
Her mother disclosed how her daughter was always very studious.
“When I would go to Walmart, she would say, ‘Can I buy books?’ That’s when I knew she was smart,” Clinton said. “She would have done so much.”
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