Four children are sharing their heartbreaking story after their single mother died from COVID-19 just after her 50th birthday.
Cindy Dawkins’ children are urging others to take the virus seriously and get vaccinated, GMA reports.
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The mother from Boynton Beach, Florida, passed away from coronavirus-related complications after she began feeling tired and short of breath. The woman died of COVID-19 pneumonia two days after arriving at the hospital.
Her 20-year-old son, Tre Burrows, told GMA that she did not get the vaccine.
"I think she wasn't sure about the vaccine, and we followed the rules and kept our masks on," Burrows told the outlet. "Now seeing how it happened and how quickly it happened, it definitely changed our perspective. Getting a vaccine helps more than any damage it could do."
Dawkins also leaves behind Jenny, 24, Zoey, 15, and Sierra, 12. The family is scrambling to keep their family together through their tragic loss.
"Even when we were younger, [our mom] would tell us that we were brothers and sisters and we had to look after each other," Jenny, a dental assistant, said. "Right now we're in survival mode trying to make sure that everything gets done."
The older siblings are currently working to obtain guardianship of their younger sisters, who just started ninth and seventh grade, respectively.
"We're making sure everything is set for our sisters, that they have a good foundation," said Tre, who recently started a new job with a local health care company. "We're doing exactly what our mother was doing."
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The children describe their mother, a Bahamas native, as a hard worker who once worked two jobs to support her family.
"She was an amazing woman, not just a mom," Jenny said. "She never wanted her kids to worry about anything."
She added, "I feel like my mom would at peace because if I know my mom, this is all that she wanted, to make sure that her kids would be OK. That's what she was living for. She was living for us."
The family’s GoFundMe page has raised over $27,000.
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